Four games into what might be the most rugged SEC slate that a Kentucky team has ever played, the No. 8 Wildcats are already feeling the physical effects of the league grind.

Mark Pope's squad has faced three of the SEC's most physical teams -- Georgia, Mississippi State, and Texas A&M in succession -- as it prepares to clash with No. 4 Alabama on Saturday at Rupp Arena.

While the run-and-gun Crimson Tide (14-3, 3-1 SEC) are not expected to present the same type of approach that the last three opponents did, Kentucky (14-3, 3-1 SEC) is monitoring a couple of health situations involving key players.

Grad senior forward Andrew Carr has been playing through lower-back issues of late, and grad senior point guard Lamont Butler found himself knocked to the floor with a variety of ailments during the Cats' 81-69 win over Texas A&M on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.

For now, UK just hopes to get Carr through Saturday's game without any further issues with something of an "open date" looming with no mid-week game.

"We're kinda just scratching and clawing to stay alive right now," Pope said. "Then hopefully we'll put three days together next week where he's able to make some progress. Right now, he's kind of on no-practice and hope that we can tape him together for the game. That's kind of how we've been rolling the past two weeks."

While not 100%, the 6-foot-11 Carr has remained effective on the court. In the win over Texas A&M, he scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds while logging more than 25 minutes.

Pope noted that it helps to have a savvy veteran with a high basketball IQ, so missing practice is not as big an issue with him as it might be with other players.

"It's not ideal. He'd be the first to tell you it's hard to find rhythm a little bit when you're just kinda piecing together a day here and a day there, but we do have some semblance of confidence that he's going to improve."

Regarding Butler, Pope did not seem concerned about his floor general.

"He's a winner," Pope said. "... We've said it a hundred thousand times, but it's starting to hit even more different, isn't it? We've been saying it, but now we all get to feel it, we get to experience it, we get to witness it and see it at a bigger level than maybe we've seen it from him before."

Butler, who had to be helped up on several occasions during the battle with the Aggies, was able to return late in the game and help UK seal the hard-fought victory. He finished with six points, seven assists, and three steals, one that denied A&M's final gasp to get back in the game.

"He's fun to coach," Pope said. "He's going to keep battling and fighting, but it's probably not the end of him getting beat up a bit."