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Andrew Carr had been playing through a nagging back injury, but the issue seems to have become too much, and the fifth-year senior Kentucky forward will miss Saturday afternoon’s SEC showdown at Vanderbilt.
Carr had appeared on the Wildcats’ availability report with the injury for multiple games, but he had managed to play in all 18 of Kentucky’s games this season. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that streak will come to an end on Saturday when the 6-foot-11, 235-pound Carr will be forced to watch from the bench. He was officially ruled out on the team’s availability report published shortly before Saturday’s game.
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said earlier this week that he hoped Carr would be closer to optimum health in time to play on Saturday as the No. 9 Wildcats (14-4, 3-2 SEC) visited the Commodores (15-4, 3-3) for the 2:30 p.m. ET game on ESPN.
Carr is averaging 10.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 26 minutes per game this season. He’s shooting 53.9% from the field this season and 79.4% from the free throw line. He’s been a rock in Kentucky’s rotation all season, so Pope will have to adjust on Saturday in hostile territory as the Wildcats look to rebound from last Saturday’s home loss to Alabama.
It doesn’t get any easier after Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt, either, as the Wildcats stay in the state to play at No. 6 Tennessee on Tuesday night.
Kentucky is a 2.5-point favorite, via ESPN Bet.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
