By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Reed Sheppard claimed his first Southeastern Conference honor when he was named the league’s freshman of the week on Monday.
In two games last week, Sheppard averaged 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals per game in a win over Miami and a loss to UNC-Wilmington.
In a 95-73 win over the Hurricanes in the ACC/SEC Challenge last week, Sheppard made five 3-pointers, had five rebounds and four assists and finished with 21 points. He followed that performance up by tying a career-high with 25 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
Through the first eight games, Sheppard is shooting 61 percent from behind the arc, tops in the nation, and has recorded an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.58. He also is averaging 3 steals per game and nearly four assists per outing.
Cats drop in poll
Kentucky fell four spots in the Associated Press Top-25 poll released on Monday. The Wildcats slipped to 16th following an 80-73 loss to UNC-Wilmington Saturday.
Miami, which was ranked No. 8, dropped to No. 15 after the loss to the Wildcats in the ACC-SEC Challenge last week.
Kentucky is the highest-ranked SEC school in the poll. Tennessee is No. 17 and Texas A&M is ranked 21st.
Kentucky doesn’t play again until Saturday when the Wildcats take on Pennsylvania at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Tipoff is set for noon.