Kentucky without Butler (shoulder) at Tennessee

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• =”40″/ > Jeff BorzelloJan 27, 2025, 09:21 PM ET Close Basketball recruiting insider.
• Joined ESPN in 2014.
• Graduate of University of Delaware.Kentucky senior Lamont Butler,

who has begun 17 games for the Wildcats this season, is out for Tuesday night’s trip to Tennessee.Butler has been dealing with a shoulder injury, and coach Mark

Pope said after Saturday’s loss to Vanderbilt that he’s not 100%.”Lamont, he’s got a lot right now. We all know what a warrior he is,”Pope stated.”He is offering us whatever he’s got right now. However it’s tough for him, physically, today.” Butler, who transferred to Kentucky last spring after 4 seasons at San Diego State, has

been among the best guards in the SEC. He’s balancing 13.2 points, 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals, shooting 40% from 3-point range.Earlier this season versus Louisville, Butler had 32 points and 6 assists, shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from the field and 6-for-6 from 3-point range. He also had 19 points and eight helps in an early-January win over Florida.Editor’s Picks< img src ="https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2025/0127/r1443936_1296x1296_1-1.jpg&w=130&h=130&scale=crop&location=center"width="65

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2 Associated Without Butler, look for Jaxson Robinson to shoulder more of the ballhandling duties. Robinson had five helps against Gonzaga when Butler was out earlier this season and likewise ran the offense against Colgate in a game both Butler and Kerr Kriisa missed.Kentucky is looking to restore some consistency, having actually lost two games in a row to Alabama and Vanderbilt and going simply 4-4 in its previous 8 games after starting out with 10 wins in its first 11 games.In addition to

Butler being out, the SEC Student-Athlete Accessibility Report listed forward Andrew Carr as doubtful. Carr missed out on the Vanderbilt game with a back concern that has hampered him for a few weeks. Kriisa, who went through ankle surgery in December, is also out.No.

12 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC) heads to No. 8 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC) on Tuesday (7 p.m., ESPN).