Kentucky's Lamont Butler on facing Tennessee in Sweet 16: 'We're going to win that game'
Kentucky beat Tennessee twice during the regular season. It sounds like point guard Lamont Butler has no doubt the Wildcats will beat the Vols for a third time when the two teams meet in the Sweet 16 Friday in Indianapolis.
Butler was asked after Kentucky’s 84-75 win over Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday if playing in the SEC — the league got 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament and has seven teams in the Sweet 16, both tournament records — if playing in the record-setting league will help prepare the Wildcats for the third meeting with the Vols.
“We’re just battle tested, throughout this whole conference,” Butler said. “(The) conference was a beast. We had a lot of good teams that we played, but we stayed resilient, stayed together. And it showed today.
“Everybody was playing with love and passion for one another and we can’t focus about anything but the next game. We just have a lot of love, and we’re going to win that game.”
Tennessee (29-7) the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, will face No. 3 Kentucky (24-11) on Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats, in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019, beat No. 14 Troy in the first round in Milwaukee before the win over Illinois.
Tennessee, in the Sweet 16 for a third straight year for the first time in program history, beat No. 15 Wofford on Thursday in the first round, then beat No. 7 UCLA 67-58 last Saturday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
Tennessee and Kentucky, in a rivalry that dates back to 1910 and includes 241 total meetings, have never played in the NCAA Tournament. Friday’s game will also be the first for the Vols in the NCAA Tournament against an SEC opponent.
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The SEC on Sunday set an NCAA Tournament by getting seven teams into the Sweet 16: No. 1 Auburn, No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 10 Arkansas.
Kentucky beat Tennessee twice during regular season
Kentucky beat Tennessee 78-73 at Food City Center on January 28 and 75-64 at Rupp Arena on February 11. The Vols are 9-2 since the loss in Lexington, with a 76-74 loss at Ole Miss and an 86-77 loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament championship.
Butler didn’t play against Tennessee in Knoxville due to a shoulder injury. He played against the Vols in Lexington, scoring six points with four assists, three rebounds and three steals in 22 minutes, before leaving the game due to the same shoulder injury.
“He’s really good defensively,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said of Butler after the loss at Rupp Arena, “but also he gives them their best downhill driver, and a guy that (is) experienced, been around. I love the way he plays, I really do.
“And I hate that he got hurt again, because those shoulders, they’re hard to deal with this time of year, especially when you’re at the point where you’re getting hit a lot.
“I just hate that for him and for them. But he’s a difference maker because, one, he’s tough, hard-nosed, can affect the game on both ends.”
