The Kentucky men’s basketball team is off to a strong start this season, and senior Oscar Tshiebwe is leading the charge. On Monday, Tshiebwe was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week after averaging 22 points and 20.5 rebounds in wins over Georgia and Texas A&M last week.
This is the second weekly SEC honor for a Wildcat this season, after Cason Wallace was named SEC Freshman of the Week on December 27th. It is also the third weekly conference honor of Tshiebwe’s career, after picking up two a season ago.
Tshiebwe put on a show in the come-from-behind victory over the Bulldogs on Tuesday, pouring in a career-best 37 points while grabbing 24 boards. He followed that up with seven points and a game-high 17 boards in the win over Texas A&M on Saturday.
Tshiebwe’s performance against Georgia was particularly impressive. He became just the third player in program history to have multiple games of at least 24 rebounds, joining Dan Issel and Cotton Nash as the only others to do so. He also became the fifth player in UK history to have a 35-point, 20-rebound game, and the first in 45 years.
With a team-high 16.6 points per game and the nation’s best 14.0 rebounds per contest, Tshiebwe is one of two players nationally averaging more than 16 points and 13 rebounds per game. He is the only player in the country averaging at least 15 points, at least 13 rebounds, at least 1.5 steals and at least 1.0 blocks per game. Tshiebwe has registered a double-double in 39 of 51 career games for the Wildcats, ranking fourth all-time in program history.
Kentucky has a strong history of success under head coach John Calipari, and this season is no exception. The team has won more weekly SEC honors (121) than any other school during the Calipari era, including 91 SEC Freshman of the Week awards and 30 SEC Player of the Week honors.
Tshiebwe and the Wildcats will travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Vanderbilt on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on SEC Network. With Tshiebwe leading the way, the team is poised for a strong season and a potential run at the national championship.
