During Kentucky’s win over Texas A&M on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena, UK point guard Lamont Butler took a beating, seemingly injuring multiple body parts during certain portions of the game. However, Butler always fought his way back on the floor, and helped make big plays down the stretch as the eighth-ranked Cats held off the No. 11 Aggies.

UK head coach Mark Pope was not surprised by Butler’s ability to literally bounce back each time he was knocked down.

“He’s a winner. He’s a winner,” Pope said. “I actually said that in (the) staff (meeting) yesterday. And we’ve said it 100,000 times but it’s starting to hit even more different. We’ve been saying it, but now we all get to feel it, we all get to experience it, we get to witness it and we get to see it in real time and a bigger level than maybe we’ve seen before. He’s fun to coach. He’s going to keep battling, fighting. It’s probably not the end of him getting beat up a little bit.”

After beating consecutive ranked teams (Mississippi State and Texas A&M), the Cats faced yet another of the nation’s best teams on Saturday. This time, the opposition is provided by No. 4 Alabama. Pope admires the job that Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats has done in Tuscaloosa.

“What Nate’s done at Alabama has been incredible,” Pope said. “He’s playing a fun style of basketball. They’re really tough to prepare for. Their pace is elite. They’re one of the fastest playing teams in the country. Their transition offense is incredible. They have the presumptive player of the year in the league (Mark Sears). They’re a terrific team.”

The game figures to be a high-scoring affair with a lot of three-point shots taken. Alabama leads the nation in scoring, averaging 89.5 points per game, while Kentucky is third in the country, scoring 88.7 points per contest. The Crimson Tide shoot 31.2 three-point shots per game, while the Cats hoist 27.7 attempts per game from behind the arc.

Alabama is 14-3 and 3-1 in the Southeastern Conference. The Tide lost to Ole Miss 64-54 on Tuesday night, snapping an eight-game winning streak. Kentucky is also 14-3 and 3-1 in league games.

Tipoff for Saturday’s game in Lexington is at noon ET and the game can be seen on ESPN.