Lamont Butler, left, and Jaxson Robinson were both cleared to play at Oklahoma but combined for only 32 minutes. (UK Athletics Photo)
By LARRY VAUGHT
Kentucky got a win it desperately needed at Oklahoma Wednesday night thanks to an unbelievable performance by Otega Oweh who scored UK’s final 18 points in the 83-82 road win.
Kentucky next will host No. 1 Auburn, the runaway Southeastern Conference leader, on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Rupp Arena.
Injured starters Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson both returned to the lineup at Oklahoma. However, Robinson did not play the second half. Instead, he sat on the bench nursing his injured right wrist in a game he wanted to be part of because he’s from Oklahoma.
“Jax’s wrist didn’t respond great tonight,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said after the win. “We’ll see how that is going forward.”
Andrew Carr was coming off his best game recently against Alabama but got in early foul trouble and was limited to 19 minutes and finished with seven points, three rebounds and one steal. He seemed to possibly tweak his back injury again.
“I think Andrew is doing okay. I think he’s okay,” Pope said.
Amari Williams not only got two early fouls but then also rolled his ankle early in the game. He missed some time but returned and had eight points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in his 19 minutes. However, after the game he was seen leaving the arena with his ankle heavily taped and limping slightly.
Butler had been out with an injured shoulder. He played 20 minutes and had seven points, four rebounds and six assists. He would have played more but he fouled out with just under five minutes to play and said after the game he felt no pain in his shoulder.
“I think Lamont is okay,” the Kentucky coach said Wednesday night. “We’ll see.”
Pope knows Butler will need time to get back into game condition.
“Lamont, he gets rubber legs out there. He hasn’t played for a month. I know he’s been spotty. He’s done a lot of off-court stuff,” Pope said. “ It’s just different when you’re on the court. So, can you buy him 90 seconds so he can kind of catch his wind and get back in the game? And that’s probably the way we’ll have to roll as we patchwork this together.”
Lamont Butler Sr. said on WPBK-FM Radio Tuesday that his son had been “itching” to play but he appreciated Pope’s cautious approach and wanting to make sure he was healthy for postseason play.
“Lamont’s been pretty good for the last week, 10 days, maybe back to where he was before we threw him out last time. So, it was just kind of, we were just in this waiting space where it’s just like, he’s moving great, like limited movement that you might notice on the court is because this brace is so tight right now, trying to keep him together,” Pope said.
“I think the thinking was, it was four games left, it was kind of like a good runway for him to kind of find himself back into this. This game means something to us here at Oklahoma, it means something to Jax, too, and I think he was excited to get out here and try it. I think both those guys were dying to get back on the floor. They had both been cleared.”
Oklahoma coach Porter Moser was disappointed with the loss, especially since a potential game-winning shot was blocked in the final second. However, he also understands what a healthy Kentucky can be.
“They’ve got a Final Four team when they’re healthy, I feel that way,” Moser said. “With Butler and Jaxson Robinson, they’ve got a lot of weapons. When we look at it, I thought our guys played hard. I don’t have any regrets about how hard our guys competed tonight.”
