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Julius Randle tabbed SEC Player of the Week

Julius Randle has earned Southeastern Conference Player of the Week accolades to open the 2013-14 season it was announced by the league office on Monday.

Julius Randle - photo by Tim Hamblin | East KY Media

– photo by Tim Hamblin | East KY Media

Freshman Julius Randle has earned Southeastern Conference Player of the Week accolades to open the 2013-14 season it was announced by the league office on Monday.

Randle averaged 22.5 points and 15.0 rebounds per game with a pair of double-doubles in 's two home victories.

With 45 total points scored on the weekend, he has now tallied more points than any other UK freshman in his first two games under John Calipari. The previous high was John Wall in 2009-10 who totaled 40 in his first two outings.

The Dallas, Texas, native is the first Wildcat to have consecutive 20-point, 10-rebound games since Patrick Patterson turned the trick in December of 2008. His 23-point, 16-rebound effort in his collegiate debut vs. UNC Asheville was just two points and one rebound shy of matching UK first-game records in both categories. Terrence Jones has 25 points in his opening game, while Sam Bowie pulled down 17 rebounds in 1979 to begin his career.

Randle visited the charity stripe 27 times this weekend, making 21. He had at least 10 made free throws in both games. Furthermore, his three assists against Northern was a squad-best.

The Wildcats are back in action on Tuesday, as UK travels to Chicago for the Champions Classic in a showdown with No. 2 Michigan State. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip and will air live on ESPN.

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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