Kentucky men’s basketball put together a scrappy 87-68 win over Western Kentucky to round out the BBN Invitational on Tuesday.

The win was by far the closest of the invitational and the second closest of the season for the Cats only after their Champions Classic duel with Duke.

When taking a closer look at both of those games, the WKU and Duke wins, a few similarities arise.

First, both teams are the only reigning NCAA Tournament teams Kentucky has faced this season.

Second, when looking at the box score, one name appeared at the very top both times: Andrew Carr.

“Andrew Carr, I thought was great in every facet of the game tonight,” Kentucky Head Coach Mark Pope said. “Andrew was a star on all sides of the ball and I’m really proud of that, that matters to us.”

Carr, like most of the Kentucky roster, found his way to Lexington through the transfer portal after spending two seasons in Winston-Salem with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the ACC.

Prior to Wake Forest, Carr spent two seasons at Delaware, helping the Fightin’ Blue Hens to win their second ever CAA Conference Championship and enter the NCAA Tournament for just the sixth time in program history.

“I think my experience — I’ve been in a lot of big games in my career — (helps me excel),” Carr said. “Won a championship at Delaware. The toughness and the mentality that comes in those closer games… I love a fight.”

Love the fight he did against Western Kentucky, battling for 18 points, tied with Otega Oweh as co-leading scorer for the Cats, and 10 rebounds, his first double-double of the season.

Playing 29 minutes against the Hilltoppers, Carr tied for second on the team in +/-, a figure that tracks roughly how well the team did with that player on the court. While it can be skewed by lineups, the figure showed that when Carr was on the floor, the Wildcats were playing better ball.

“He can really influence a game without putting up (big points),” Carr’s teammate, Kerr Kriisa, said. “(He was) great. It’s expected. He knows that and he delivers. He can really help us win different ways, not only statistical ways.”

Kriisa and Pope were far from the only people singing Carr’s praises after the game, though, as Western Kentucky Head Coach Hank Polna also had positive words to say of the West Chester, Pennsylvania, native.

“(He) seems to be kind of a stabilizing force for them at times when they get in trouble or the game gets closer,” Polna said. “There aren’t a lot of people that have a 6-foot-11, 230-pound four man in today’s game. He has 18 points and it almost feels like he scores when he has to. I don’t know what mistakes he makes.”

As previously alluded to, the WKU win was far from the first time Carr has come up big for the Cats when they needed him most, with the veteran also leading the way in UK’s win over then No. 6 Duke in Atlanta.

“Andrew’s a good player,” Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer said after the game. “He made some big plays. He’s got good size and does a good job inside, he had two and-one finishes, he’s capable from three.”

Against the Blue Devils, Carr logged 17 points on 62.5% shooting with six rebounds while also notching the two huge and-one plays that Scheyer alluded to which ultimately won the Cats the game late.

Perhaps what is most notable about Carr, beyond just what Polna implied about his decision making, is his flexibility within the Kentucky offense with Pope opting to use him both as a four and a five during the WKU win.

“I’m super comfortable there,” Carr said. “We rep it out at practice, but also, for me, I spent most of my first year at Wake playing the five and have done it my whole career. Being able to play four and five adds a whole new level offensively. I think it’s a great asset for us.”

On top of his high level of flexibility and play, Carr has also stood out as a leader on this rag-tag Kentucky roster both as a veteran and a level-headed ballplayer.

If the two games are anything to go off of early in this 2024-25 campaign, Kentucky can go very far with Carr playing a pivotal role and, for a team with a chip on its shoulder and everything to prove, the sky’s the limit.

Kentucky men’s basketball will return to action on Friday, Nov. 29, to face off against the Georgia State Panthers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.