Malachi Moreno named SEC Freshman of the Week

Kentucky Basketball freshman center Malachi Moreno has been named SEC Freshman of the Week, marking the first weekly honor of his young career.

In last week’s wins at South Carolina and at home vs. Vanderbilt, Moreno averaged 9.5 points (66.7% shooting) and 8.5 rebounds per game.

Against South Carolina, Moreno had eight points and a career-high-tying 11 rebounds to go with two blocks and a steal. His efforts helped the Cats notch a rebounding advantage of plus-20, the highest in the Mark Pope era.

Then against Vanderbilt, Moreno racked up 11 points, a team-high six rebounds, and a team-high five assists to help Kentucky get its biggest win over an AP Top 25 team under Pope.

This is the third weekly honor of the season for the Cats. Otega Oweh has won two SEC Player of the Week awards.

The Wildcats are now 10-1 this season when Moreno scores in double figures. They’ll certainly need the freshman to keep up this type of production to have deep runs in the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.