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,

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.

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.

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

Pope does have a roster of players who have played in the NCAA Tournament. Specifically, point guard Lamont Butler, who is expected to return to action after being injured in the SEC Tournament, has played in the Final Four and an NCAA Championship game at San Diego State. Pope knows that Butler’s experience is very important.

Mark Pope's Kentucky basketball team dispatched Oklahoma without Lamont Butler. If Pope wants Cats to thrive in NCAA tourney, he needs to rest guard.

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.