Jan. 3, 2011

LEXINGTON, KY – The UK men’s basketball team swept the Southeastern Conference’s weekly awards for the second straight week as Josh Harrellson was named SEC Player of the Week and Brandon Knight was named the SEC Freshman of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday.

Harrellson, a 6-10 forward from St. Charles, Mo., averaged 16.5 points and nine rebounds in wins over Coppin State and at No. 22 Louisville. Harrellson scored double-digits in both games last week, including a career-high 23 points in UK’s win at 22nd ranked Louisville. He tied his career-high with 14 rebounds at Louisville while recording his third double-double this season. He hit his second 3-pointer this season during a stretch where he scored 12 of UK’s first 17 points of the second half against the Cardinals.

Knight, a 6-3 guard from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., averaged 21 points, six assists and 3.5 rebounds in wins over Coppin State and No. 22 Louisville. Knight dished out a career-best and game-high eight assists in the win against Coppin State. He then tallied a game-high and career-best 25 points in the win at No. 22 Louisville. Knight scored seven-straight point in crucial first-half run for the Wildcats against Louisville to help extend UK’s lead from five to 10 (21-16 to 28-18).

The awards were Harrellson’s first and Knight’s third this season and the sixth and seventh for Kentucky. It marks the first time in league history a school has swept the awards in back-to-back weeks and it’s the fourth time the Wildcats have done so since the Freshman of the Week honor was created in the 2005-06 season.

Kentucky returns to action Monday night, hosting the Penn Quakers. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. ET tip and can be seen live on ESPNU.