Jan. 25, 2010

LEXINGTON, KY – UK men’s basketball player DeMarcus Cousins was named the SEC Freshman of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday.

Cousins, a 6-11 forward from Mobile, Ala., scored 16 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in only 17 minutes of action in helping lead Kentucky (19-0, 4-0 SEC) to a 101-70 win against Arkansas.

It was Cousins’ 10 th double-double of the season, one shy of the UK freshman record of 11 (Chris Mills) in a season. He has recorded two straight double-doubles and has recorded six double-doubles this season while playing less than 20 minutes in the game.

The honor is the second Freshman of the Week award for Cousins this season and his third weekly award this year. Cousins was named the SEC Player of the Week on Jan. 4.

The Wildcats have now been awarded a league record 10 weekly awards from the SEC this season. Freshman John Wall has been named the league’s freshman of the week four times, while Cousins (SEC Player of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week) has been honored three times and Bledsoe twice. Patrick Patterson was named SEC Player of the Week in week two.

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday at South Carolina. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 p.m. ET tip and can be seen live on ESPN.