Kentucky starting point guard Lamont Butler is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game vs. No. 4 Alabama on the initial SEC injury report, which was released Friday evening.
UK starting forward Andrew Carr, who has been listed as questionable in each of the last two games with a sore back, is now listed as probable. For the Crimson Tide, senior guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr., who hasn’t played since Nov. 30 and is out for the reason with a ruptured Achilles tendon, is out; senior guard Houston Mallette is out; and freshman forward Derrion Reid is questionable.
Butler went down at various points during the No. 8 Wildcats’ 81-69 win over Texas A&M at Rupp Arena Tuesday night clutching his shoulder and knee but finished the game, recording six points, two rebounds, seven assists, and three steals in 30 minutes of action.
The San Diego State transfer, who missed two games earlier this season with an ankle injury, has started all 15 games in which he’s appeared, averaging 13.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.9 steals per game for UK this season.
Over his last six games, Butler is averaging 10.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 2.7 steals.
If Butler can’t go or is limited, Kentucky freshman guard Travis Perry has been coming on strong of late, having made a 3-pointer in four of his last five games, including a career-high six points on 2 of 4 shooting beyond the arc in 10 minutes vs. Texas A&M Tuesday night.
Over his last five games, Perry is averaging 3.6 points on 5 of 8 3-point shooting (62.5%).
“TP, he’s terrific, isn’t he? This is not a really easy defense to figure out,” UK head coach Mark Pope said.
“But TP, you know I mean it was big shots, really big shots. It made us feel a whole lot better. He’s got no fear. He’s just going out to play. It’s fun. If you chart his trajectory you get to see these little steps that he’s taking, we all get to see it. It’s one of the great things about coaching and being fans that are really invested which is BBN is you get to actually see the beginning, the middle, and the growth that we get to prognosticate about where they are going and to see these guys grow is special and TP is definitely doing that. This is a high-pressure game. It’s a top 10 game against one of the best defenses in the country and he was terrific.”
Carr, who has been battling through a bad back, has started all 17 games for Kentucky, averaging 11.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists on 54.8% shooting this season.
The No. 8 Wildcats (14-3, 3-1 SEC) and No. 4 Crimson Tide (14-3, 3-1) tip off from Rupp Arena at noon ET on ESPN.
After Saturday’s game, UK gets a mid-week bye and doesn’t play until next Saturday at Vanderbilt.
