Mark Pope delivered good news to the Kentucky Wildcats faithful ahead of March Madness, updating the status of injured guard Lamont Butler.

UK was without fifth-year guard Lamont Butler for the contest after he reinjured his left shoulder on Thursday night during Kentucky’s SEC Tournament second round win over Oklahoma. Prior to Friday’s game, Pope offered a positive injury update on Butler, indicating that Butler will be back for Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament run next week.

Full transcript from Mark Pope, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams from Kentucky's postgame press conference after getting blown out by Alabama 99-70 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

Kentucky basketball has had a few extra days off to rest before the NCAA Tournament after getting smashed by Alabama in the SEC tournament quarterfinals on Friday night by a score of 99-70. During that game,

Mark Pope didn’t take Kentucky’s loss to Alabama in the SEC quarterfinals lightly. After edging out Oklahoma in the second round, the Crimson Tide took it to the Wildcats. With a chance to put a stamp on their NCAA Tournament resume and advance to the semifinals,

As the Wildcats prepare for their first-round clash, fans are hopeful that Butler’s return can spark the team and set the tone for a successful tournament run. Kentucky’s road to the Final Four begins Friday night, and with their star guard back in action, they’ll look to make a statement right out of the gate.

Kentucky Wildcats point guard Lamont Butler has been struggling with a shoulder injury over the last several months, and it appears that he is good to go for the NCAA Tournament. The Cats will open their tournament play with the 14th-seeded Troy Trojans in the Midwest Region.

Mark Pope was a member of two special Rick Pitino-coached Kentucky teams in 1995 and 1996. The ’96 team went on to win the national title, but came up short in the SEC Tournament. That wasn’t the case in ’95 though,

Sunday night was the most highly anticipated evening in college basketball as the bracket for the NCAA Tournament was announced. Kentucky ended up being the third seed in the Midwest Region, and they will get things started with a matchup against the Troy Trojans on Friday.