No. 19 Kentucky men’s basketball prevailed as underdogs on Tuesday night, defeating No. 6 Duke in the 2024 State Farm Champions Classic 77-72.
Kentucky’s Andrew Carr led the Cats in points, scoring 17 while grabbing six rebounds and helping with three assists and one block.
Leading on the scoresheet wasn’t the only standout part of Carr’s performance against the Blue Devils, however, as it was more so how he pulled UK through tough “do-or-die” situations down the stretch.
With 1:49 remaining, after a stomach-knotting game with many back and forth blows, Carr gave UK a lead that wouldn’t be erased, but it wasn’t exactly in the easiest of situations.
12 seconds prior, with 2:01 left in the game and Kentucky up 69-67, the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2024, Duke’s Cooper Flagg, finished a crucial play in the paint while getting fouled by UK’s Koby Brea, transitioning the bucket into a three-point opportunity that showed true when he sank the free-throw.
Kentucky was down by one, 70-69.
Now, knowing that a mistake could flush all of their hoops down the drain, the Cats inbounded the ball and deferred it over to Carr, who drove to the hole, dug his chest into Duke’s five-star freshman center Khaman Maluach and finished the layup while getting fouled.
Kentucky had a 71-70 lead which upgraded to 72-70 when Carr cold-bloodedly sank his free-throw.
Kentucky went on to close out the game, sponsored by two turnovers by Flagg, four clutch free-throws by Otega Oweh and one free-throw by Lamont Butler.
In fact, the possibility of a win at all wouldn’t have been so realistic if it weren’t for Carr, who pulled UK back into the game in those hostile moments.
Although it was Kentucky’s first faceoff with the Blue Devils since 2021, Carr had played against the other “Blue Blood” four times as a member of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, where he spent two seasons before transferring to UK.
Carr propelled the Demon Deacons to split a 2-2 record with Duke when he was there, helping Wake Forest achieve big wins against the national powerhouse, scoring double-digits in every matchup he played against the Durham squad.
Last season, Carr put up 12 points while shooting 6-9 from the field in Wake Forest’s first go around with Duke that resulted in a 77-69 loss. Three games later, the Demon Deacons bested the Blue Devils courtesy of an 18-point, four assist game from the Pennsylvania native.
The season prior, Carr put up ten points and seven rebounds en route to a 81-70 win over Duke in December of 2021. The next time the two programs boxed, Carr scored 11 points and grabbed five boards in a 75-73 Wake Forest loss.
Since arriving in Lexington from Winston-Salem, Carr has been more than strong for this fresh UK team that continues to learn from each other every day.
Carr looks to build off of his performance against Duke on Tuesday, Nov. 19, against the Lipscomb Bisons in Rupp Arena when Kentucky looks to improve to 4-0. That game can be viewed on SEC Network+ or ESPN+.
