BREAKING NEWS: Mark Pope Brings in an AMAZING Recruiting Class 2025 for Kentucky Basketball……

Kentucky basketball is getting ready to face off against Gonzaga in Seattle, and now will be shorthanded in the top 10 matchup.

The Wildcats are coming off of a tough 70-66 loss at Clemson earlier this week, and will now be facing an even bigger test against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

The Wildcats will be shorthanded against the Zags, as star point guard Lamont Butler will not play after tweaking his ankle late in the game against Clemson.

The guard was in foul trouble during the first half, and faced a nagging injury to his ankle, which led to a lot of limiting minutes for Butler.

It’s clear just how important he is to this Kentucky team, as the offense was struggling all night.

It seems that Butler’s ability to translate defense into offense is very valuable. Not only that, but he really dishes out assists to.

Butler really makes this Kentucky team go, and his absence was clear when thinking about when the Wildcats were struggling the most in the game.

His stat line was impressive, despite just 19 minutes on the floor.

He had 16 points on 6-9 shooting, 2-4 from three-point range, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds.

He immediately had a spark at the beginning of that second half before the injury, dishing a couple of assists in the matter of nearly two minutes.

His absence will be an important reason for guys like Kerr Kriisa to step up, especially since he struggled last game, and Travis Perry as well against the No. 7 Gonzaga Bulldogs.