CINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati senior guard Dion Dixon has been named the BIG EAST Conference Player of the Week after scoring a season-high 22 points in consecutive wins at then-No. 11 Georgetown on Jan. 9 and at home against Villanova on Jan. 14. The victories give Cincinnati nine wins in its last 10 games and have the Bearcats off to their best league start at 4-1 since joining the BIG EAST.
Dixon made 8-of-15 from the field, scored six points and grabbed two steals inside the final two minutes while making four consecutive free throws in the last eight seconds to help UC to a 68-64 victory at Georgetown. It marked the Bearcats’ second consecutive road win over a ranked opponent this month. UC topped then-No. 22 Pitt 66-63 in Pittsburgh on New Year’s Day.
Dixon scored 17 of his team-high 22 points against Villanova in the first half, keeping UC within striking distance while the Wildcats connected on 10 first-half three-pointers. Dixon tied his season-high with four three-pointers before intermission. The Chicago native later scored four points inside the final 2:10 to help seal the 82-78 win.
For the week, Dixon averaged 22.0 points while shooting 44.1 percent from the field (15-of-34) and 41.7 percent from three-point range (5-of-12).
Dixon has scored 20 or more points in four games this season and has reached double figures in scoring in all but two contests.
Dixon is enjoying his best season at Cincinnati, averaging 14.1 points to rank second on the team.
Dixon is the second UC player to earn player of the week accolades from the BIG EAST in the past three weeks. Sophomore guard Sean Kilpatrick received the honor on Jan. 2 after helping the Bearcats to wins over then-No. 22 Pitt and Oklahoma.
Dixon is the fourth Bearcat to win BIG EAST Player of the Week recognition since UC joined the conference prior to the 2005-06 season. Deonta Vaughn earned the distinction on Jan. 14, 2008 while Eric Hicks was chosen for the award on Jan. 9, 2006.
UC travels to Connecticut on Wednesday (7 p.m. on ESPN2) and West Virginia on Saturday (3 p.m. on ESPNU) before playing host to Syracuse on Jan. 23 (7 p.m. on ESPN).
