Andrew Carr eager to get his shot at Vanderbilt after missing first matchup

Andrew Carr wasn’t able to play against Vanderbilt when Kentucky first went head-to-head with the Commodores this season. Back spasms that first popped up at the turn of the new year became too painful to play through in that Jan. 25 road loss to Vandy. It was just the second missed contest for Carr in his college career, which spans 141 games.

But the fifth-year forward is much healthier a few weeks later as he continues to work past his injury issues. He’ll finally get his hot at Vanderbilt when Kentucky, coming off a tough road loss to unranked Texas, plays host to the ‘Dores on Wednesday night.

“Health-wise I’m doing good. I feel great,” Carr said Tuesday. “Certainly trying to continue to get back into a groove here the last couple games. As a team we gotta be a little more consistent and that’s kind of where we’re at mentally. We’re just ready to do whatever it takes to keep on winning, get back in the win column.”

So far, it hasn’t been a smooth transition for Carr since returning from the injury. He’s previously said the back spams sparked around the Brown game on Dec. 31. Including that win, Carr averaged 11.3 points and 6.2 rebounds on 55.4 percent shooting through the first 13 games of the season. The competition increased as the SEC schedule rolled in, but Carr just hasn’t been the same guy.

He was able to play through the pain for a handful of games, and performed well, too. Carr scored at least 13 points in three of four games, which included wins over Florida, Mississippi State, and Texas A&M — all Top 15 opponents. But it worsened on Jan. 18 against Alabama as he saw a season-low 18 minutes. He then sat out the Vanderbilt game and played just 89 seconds the following outing against Tennesee as he couldn’t even participate in practice.

Since being reinserted into the lineup on Feb. 1 against Arkansas, Carr has averaged just 6.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game on 45 percent shooting across five games played — all off the bench. He was on a minutes restriction that has him averaging just 18 minutes per game during this stretch. Foul trouble hasn’t helped him get back into a groove either. Carr fouled out for the first time all season against Texas. He’s collecting nearly three fouls per game (2.8) over his last five contests despite a smaller role. He had four fouls in 14 minutes during the win over South Carolina.

But all it takes is one breakthrough game for Carr to find his footing again. A rematch against a good, but not great, Vanderbilt team inside Rupp Arena is the perfect opportunity. As a spectator from the bench in the first matchup, he knows what will be needed of him in round two.

“We felt like we fought back really well against (Vanderbilt) in the beginning of the second half there and had them on the ropes, and they ended up coming back and beating us there at their place,” Carr said. “And so, you know, that one really hurt for us, and we really felt that we learned a lot from that game. We’re super excited. For me, I wasn’t able to be a part of the game. I’m super excited to be able to try and get out there and go get a win against them.”

Regardless of what the surface-level statistics say of his recent performances, Carr is an important piece to Mark Pope‘s roster. He’s still considered a Top 50 player (No. 48) in the country by EvanMiya’s advanced player rating numbers. A fully healthy version of Carr, the guy we saw excel against Duke and Gonzaga, only helps Kentucky’s chances of making a deep NCAA Tournament run. The Wildcats need him to be that guy again.

Will it start with Vanderbilt?

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