Unfortunately, Saturday produced what was another tough loss for the Kentucky Wildcats to Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

For the Big Blue Nation, it’s never easy to endure a loss, but it’s especially difficult to accept when the Cats outplay their opponent for much of the game.

Despite a slew of things that went wrong down the stretch, there were several bright spots to lean on as Kentucky creeps toward the ever-important month of March.

For example, after scoring just four points on 1/4 shooting in UK’s 102-97 loss to Alabama on January 18th in Lexington, Andrew Carr reminded everyone of just how effective he can be when healthy.

This was a total 180 from UK’s first meeting with Alabama.

In that first matchup, the Wake Forest transfer was only able to go for 18 minutes scoring just four points while battling a bad back injury. This undoubtedly played a role in Grant Nelson going nuclear and pouring in a season-high 25 points.

However, things went much differently Saturday with Carr’s health playing less of a factor. The 6-foot-11 versatile big man scored 17 points on 6/9 shooting while grabbing three boards. He was hot from outside, making 3/5 from deep and forcing the Crimson Tide defense to guard multiple shooting threats.

Meanwhile, Bama’s Grant Nelson was completely shut down and only able to muster five points in just 15 minutes.

Prior to Saturday’s 96-83 loss, Kentucky was undefeated this season when Andrew Carr scored 14 or more points.

In what was probably UK’s best victory of the season, Carr shined, scoring 17 points in 30 minutes in a win vs. Duke in the Champions Classic.

His contributions will play a huge factor in how far Kentucky can go this postseason.

It’s not only Carr’s basketball ability that makes him a valuable asset, the graduate-student also brings experience and acts a stabilizing force on the floor.

It’ll be interesting to see if Andrew Carr can continue his terrific play when the Cats take on the Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday night in Norman.