It can be hard to keep up with everything going on in the University of Kentucky’s 22 varsity sports. With that in mind, we will highlight the best from around Kentucky sports each week. We’ll recognize the best performances from Wildcat teams and players, we’ll show you the coolest videos and photos that you may have missed and we’ll mix in some new stuff along the way. Here are your award winners for this week:
Team of the week – Men’s basketball one step away
One the most hyped and anticipated teams in Kentucky history, the Wildcats sit just one win away from capturing UK’s eighth national championship in school history. After defeating in-state rival Louisville in the Final Four, 69-61, they move on to face the other winner in the semi-finals in Kansas.
It will be another rematch for Kentucky, the third such game for UK in the NCAA Tournament (Indiana and Louisville). The Wildcats defeated Kansas in just the second game of the season up at Madison Square Garden, 75-65. Kansas will have an opportunity to avenge their loss early in the season, while Kentucky looks to finish the mission they started out on almost five months ago.
Player of the Week – Anthony Davis wins Naismith Award, dominates in Final Four
Anthony Davis continues to rack up the hardware while backing up those accomplishments on the hard wood. On Sunday, less than 24 hours after advancing to the national championship game with a win over Louisville, Davis was named the recipient of the 2012 Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T as the Men’s College Player of the Year.
Davis proved worthy of the accolade with one of the best games in Final Four history. He posted an 18-point, 14-rebound, five-block game Saturday night, the first such game in a Final Four since 1988. The freshman from Chicago averages a team-leading 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while blocking 180 shots this season.
Davis won six of the seven major National Player of the Year awards: Adolph Rupp Trophy, USBWA, Basketball Times, Associated Press, Wooden and Naismith.
Game of the Week – Kentucky wins first series at Georgia since 2000
With
an 11-2 win over the Georgia Bulldogs Sunday afternoon, the Kentucky
baseball team (27-2, 7-2) sits alone in first place atop the
Southeastern Conference and has garnered the No. 1 ranking in the
Collegiate Baseball poll.
an 11-2 win over the Georgia Bulldogs Sunday afternoon, the Kentucky
baseball team (27-2, 7-2) sits alone in first place atop the
Southeastern Conference and has garnered the No. 1 ranking in the
Collegiate Baseball poll.
Facing a rubber
match in the SEC for the second straight weekend, the Kentucky offense
erupted for 16 hits and 11 runs as UK cruised to an impressive win over
No. 18 Georgia on the road. J.T. Riddle led the onslaught offensively
for the Wildcats with a three-hit, four-run afternoon. He blasted his
second homer of the season and had two RBI in a 3-for-3 game with a
walk. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Corey Littrell worked 7.2 innings on
the way to his fourth win of the season. Littrell allowed just eight
hits and one run, walking two and striking out five
match in the SEC for the second straight weekend, the Kentucky offense
erupted for 16 hits and 11 runs as UK cruised to an impressive win over
No. 18 Georgia on the road. J.T. Riddle led the onslaught offensively
for the Wildcats with a three-hit, four-run afternoon. He blasted his
second homer of the season and had two RBI in a 3-for-3 game with a
walk. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Corey Littrell worked 7.2 innings on
the way to his fourth win of the season. Littrell allowed just eight
hits and one run, walking two and striking out five
Video of the Week – Recap of UK-U of L
Alumnus/Alumnae of the week – Jodie Meeks goes off for a career-high 31 points
Former Kentucky basketball Jodie Meeks has had a really good week. With Sixers teammate Andre Iguodala out for the second consecutive game with a knee injury, Meeks stepped up and delivered the best game of his NBA career, leading Philadelphia to a 103-85 win over Cleveland. While it wasn’t quite the 54 points that Meeks poured on Tennessee a few years ago, he was scorching hot from beyond the arc, hitting seven 3-pointers in the game. The seven 3s were as many as he had hit over the last six games combined.
Meeks also posted two other double-digit scoring outputs this week against the Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs with 12 and 11 points respectively.
