The bad news: Kentucky’s 99-70 loss to Alabama on Friday night was the Wildcats’ worst loss, by margin, in the history of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament. The good news: Kentucky basketball will not play Alabama or Auburn or Florida or Tennessee or any of UK’s fellow 15 SEC hoops members for the rest of the 2024-25 season.

Despite the Kentucky Wildcats ’ early exit from the SEC Tournament at the hands of Oklahoma, they remain in a strong position heading into the NCAA Tournament. ESPN women's bracketologist Charlie Creme projects Kentucky as a No. 3 seed, reinforcing their opportunity to host the first two rounds of the tournament.

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