Lamont Butler went back to the locker room with an injury during the first half of Kentucky‘s SEC Tournament matchup against Oklahoma. Head coach Mark Pope said that his point guard is receiving “imaging” to determine the extent of his injury.
After halftime, McGrath provided a slight update to Butler’s status. She was able to confirm that Butler is dealing with his left shoulder, but has not been ruled out as of her post-halftime report.
Lamont Butler would emerge from the locker room during the second half, but it would be in a t-shirt. After the second media timeout, McGrath provided the update that Butler would not return for the game — but made it clear that this is only a designation for Thursday’s second-round matchup.
Butler has been dealing with a nagging shoulder injury during the latter half of the season, causing him to wear a brace on his should since returning in Febraury. He was deemed questionable to return heading into halftime.
“We’ve dealt with this all season long,” Pope told ESPN’s Molly McGrath as the Wildcats led the Sooners 40-38 at halftime. “I’ve got a resilient group and these guys are going to come fight and get the job done.”
Butler scored just two points but logged three assists in eight minutes on the court during the first half before he came out of the game. He averages 11.9 points per game for the Wildcats as Kentucky’s third-leading scorer during the regular season, but has missed multiple games during conference play nursing his shoulder injury.
When Kentucky’s point guard left the game, the Sooners mounted a 9-0 run and took their first lead of the game down the stretch. The Wildcats would score the first eight points of the game, and were able to take a two-point lead into halftime.
Kentucky was led by the combined scoring efforts of Otega Oweh and Kobe Brea in the first half. The dup combined for 23 of Kentucky’s 40 points during the matchup, including making three of UK’s four 3-point baskets during the first 20 minutes.
Oweh was the star of Kentucky’s first meeting with the Sooners, which Kentucky won 83-82 on the road, including the game-winning layup that he threw into the basket over his head amid contact. He would go on to score 23 of his 28 points during the second half.
The winner of Kentucky vs. Oklahoma on Thursday night will advance to face the No. 3 seed Alabama Crimson Tide in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET, or roughly 30 minutes following the previous game between Missouri and Florida, and is scheduled to air live on the SEC Network.
