Mark Pope was asked about a potential Arkansas vs. St. John's second-round NCAA Tournament matchup between John Calipari and Rick Pitino.

Sunday night was the most highly anticipated evening in college basketball as the bracket for the NCAA Tournament was announced. Kentucky ended up being the third seed in the Midwest Region, and they will get things started with a matchup against the Troy Trojans on Friday.

Mark Pope delivered good news to the Kentucky Wildcats faithful ahead of March Madness, updating the status of injured guard Lamont Butler.

Full transcript from Mark Pope, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams from Kentucky's postgame press conference after getting blown out by Alabama 99-70 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

Kentucky basketball has had a few extra days off to rest before the NCAA Tournament after getting smashed by Alabama in the SEC tournament quarterfinals on Friday night by a score of 99-70. During that game,

Mark Pope's first season guiding Kentucky, his alma mater, always will be viewed through the prism of how the Wildcats fare in the NCAA Tournament.

Pope does have a roster of players who have played in the NCAA Tournament. Specifically, point guard Lamont Butler, who is expected to return to action after being injured in the SEC Tournament, has played in the Final Four and an NCAA Championship game at San Diego State. Pope knows that Butler’s experience is very important.

Kentucky Wildcats point guard Lamont Butler has been struggling with a shoulder injury over the last several months, and it appears that he is good to go for the NCAA Tournament. The Cats will open their tournament play with the 14th-seeded Troy Trojans in the Midwest Region.