Mark Pope was unable to give a clear answer on Lamont Butler's injury status, but it seems like teammate Kerr Kriisa gave a terrible reaction when Butler told him the injury.

As No. 3 Alabama prepares to face No. 6 Kentucky in a crucial March Madness showdown, both teams are dealing with key injury concerns that could impact the game. With star players like Kerr Kriisa and Houston Mallette nursing injuries,

Kerr Kriisa, a fifth-year guard who hasn't played since Dec. 7 because of a foot injury, won't play for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign.

Kriisa — a fifth-year guard from Estonia who previously played at Arizona and West Virginia — suffered a fractured foot while playing in UK’s overtime win over Gonzaga on Dec. 7 and hasn’t appeared in a game for the Wildcats since. Kriisa only played in nine games for UK this season before suffering that injury, which required surgery.

Lamont Butler, Kentucky basketball's starting point guard, departed in the middle of the first half Thursday during UK's opening game in Nashville.

Kentucky standout point guard Lamont Butler exited the Wildcats' Southeastern Conference tournament second-round game against Oklahoma on Thursday after he aggravated his left shoulder injury. After 15th-ranked Kentucky pulled out an 85-84 win,

Lamont Butler, who has missed six games over the past two months with a left shoulder injury, left Kentucky’s SEC Tournament opener with the same ailment.

Kentucky basketball guard Collin Chandler talks about teammate Lamont Butler’s shoulder injury after the Wildcats’ 85-84 victory over Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament on March 13, 2025, in Nashville.