BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Freshman Willie Cauley-Stein has been named the Southeastern Conference’s Freshman of the Week for the second time in his career it was announced by the league office on Monday.
Cauley-Stein helped guide the Wildcats to a pair of critical SEC victories including a thrilling overtime win over Missouri on Saturday night.
The Olathe, Kan., native averaged 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. His 19 rebounds for the week, .647 field goal percentage, 10 blocks and two steals were all team highs.
Cauley-Stein began the week by pouring in a career-high 20 points to couple with a team-high seven rebounds and three blocks. He made 8-of-10 field goals in the win over Vanderbilt.
In the overtime thriller against Missouri, Cauley-Stein played in a career-high 35 minutes. The first-year player altered the game defensively with a career-high seven blocked shots. His 12 rebounds was a career-high tying clip, and it marked only the third game in his career with double-figure rebounding. He added seven points to the winning cause in addition to his second steal of the week.
The honor is the second of Cauley-Stein’s career. He first earned the honor after becoming the first UK player to tally multiple double-double efforts on the season with an 11-point, 11-rebound performance in UK’s final non-conference game of the season against Eastern Michigan.
Kentucky wraps up a three-game homestand with a date against Mississippi State on Wednesday. UK and the Bulldogs are set to tip at 8 p.m. ET with the game airing live on the SEC Network.
