Delaware forward Andrew Carr (21) in action during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Colonial Athletic Association conference tournament against UNC Wilmington, Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Kentucky basketball cannot afford to make drastic changes while navigating the most competitive conference in college basketball with a makeshift team as the regular season draws to a close. The game on Saturday night might serve as a prime illustration of this.
Yes, UK’s 13-point loss to Alabama gave the Crimson Tide the season sweep over the Wildcats, dropping them to 18-9 overall and a dismal 7-7 in SEC play. Although there are still many concerns over the health of Mark Pope’s original Kentucky team and the Cats’ prospects on defense in light of these injuries, UK did have one very noticeable advantage during the ultimately fruitless journey to Tuscaloosa.
Andrew Carr is making a strong comeback for Kentucky. After struggling with a persistent back issue for the majority of the previous seven weeks, the fifth-year power forward appears to have recovered. With 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal per game versus Alabama, Carr was back to his former self.
Carr’s performance against SEC opponents on Saturday was perhaps his finest of the season, according to a cursory review of his conference play performances for Kentucky.
Against Alabama, the 6-foot-11 Carr: ▪ Scored his most points (17) since the Dec. 7 overtime win over Gonzaga. ▪ Grabbed his most rebounds (six) since the Jan. 11 road win at Mississippi State.
Made his most shots from the field (six) since the Jan. 14 home win over Texas A&M and his most 3-pointers (three) as a UK player. Combine all of this with the fact Carr showed glimpses of his best basketball with an 11-point performance in Wednesday’s home win against Vanderbilt, and it appears that Carr’s offensive revival could be here to stay. “He’s been working so hard to find his way back. I thought he was brilliant. He really did look like his old physical, attacking self,” Pope said of Carr following Wednesday’s win over Vandy. Carr’s return to form has coincided with a return to Kentucky’s starting lineup. Carr’s back injury — which first revealed itself during UK’s final nonconference game against Brown on Dec. 31 — led to a significant reduction in playing time.
