Feb. 15, 2012

LEXINGTON, KY – UK freshmen Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist were named among five finalists for the 2012 Wayman Tisdale Award given to the nation’s top freshman as voted on by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).

Davis, a 6-foot-10, 222-pound freshman forward from Chicago, Ill., leads the country in blocks (127 and 4.9 per game) and ranks second in field goal percentage (.651). He leads the Wildcats in scoring (14.0 ppg), rebounding (9.9 rpg) and steals (38).

Kidd-Gilchrist, a 6-foot-7, 232-pound freshman forward from Somerdale, N.J. ranks second on the team in rebounding (7.7) and free throw percentage (.754 – 75 or more attempts) while ranking third in scoring (12.3), blocks (28) and steals (30).

The 2012 Wayman Tisdale Award will be presented at a gala banquet on Mon., April 16 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The announcement of the winner will come at the USBWA College Basketball Awards Breakfast on Fri., March 30 in New Orleans in conjunction with the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

Kentucky returns to action on Saturday, hosting Ole Miss at Rupp Arena. Scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. ET tip, the game can be seen live on SEC Network.