Lamont Butler injury update: Kentucky guard leaves to locker room vs. Tennessee

With just over eight minutes remaining in the second half, Kentucky star Lamont Butler has left for the locker room. Attempting to dive for a loose ball playing defense against Tennessee, Butler awkwardly fell around his shoulder area. It’s something that has bothered him in recent times and is once again an issue on Tuesday.

Not too long after, Tennessee was able to tie the score at 54. A tight game is expected down the stretch and not having Butler out there would be a massive loss for Kentucky. Hopefully, the injury is nothing serious and he is able to get back on the court.

“It’s feeling alright. I’m ready to go for this game tomorrow,” Butler said ahead of Tuesday’s game on his shoulder injury via On3’s KSR. “It’s feeling alright, yeah. It did not (feel great after his return). It was a little bit sore, but it’s still feeling good. It’s good enough for me to play.”

Butler is averaging 12.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. Because of other injuries on the roster, he is the only point guard Kentucky has available at times. Finding somebody to facilitate the offense — plus the elite defense Butler plays — has been a difficult challenge for head coach Mark Pope.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas had an idea shortly after Butler went into the locker room. He called on Otega Oweh to step up in Butler’s absence when it comes to getting buckets at the rim.

“With Lamont Butler out of the game, at least for now, Otega Oweh has got to be a player for Kentucky that really attacks the basket and attacks the paint,” Bilas said during the broadcast.

Jay Bilas speaks on Kentucky, Final Four chances

It’s been a roller coaster of a season for Kentucky. After kicking off its debut campaign under head coach Mark Pope with an early win against Duke, Kentucky has struggled to find consistency. During an appearance on SportsCenter Tuesday, ESPN’s Jay Bilas weighed in on the Wildcats’ ceiling this season.

“They’ve got to get healthy,” Bilas said. “Kerr Kriisa has been out, their backup point guard. Lamont Butler has been out. He’s been in and out of the lineup. When you don’t have consistent point guard play, that’s going to be difficult. Jaxson Robinson has had to slide over. He’s had a hand thing. Andrew Carr has been out. So getting everybody healthy is job one.

“But once they do, their offense can compete with anybody in the country. They run great stuff. They’re really hard to guard. They can really spread the floor. They can score a lot of points. I think the problem is they’re just giving up too many and in this league, you can play well and lose. Your defense has to be constant, and that’s an area where they’re still growing.”

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report