Rob Dillingham wins SEC Freshman of the Week following 35-point game vs. Tennessee

Rob Dillingham single-handled prevented Kentucky from getting blown out on Saturday against Tennessee. And even though his 35-point explosion ultimately came in a loss, he’s still deservedly being rewarded for his impressive individual performance.

For the first time this season, Dillingham was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week, the league announced on Monday. The 6-foot-3 point guard averaged 27.5 points, four assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 33 minutes per outing last week against Florida and Tennessee.

Dillingham shot a combined 59.5 percent from the floor and went 9-16 from beyond the arc. His 35 points against the Volunteers is the fourth-most scored by a rookie in the John Calipari era. He finished with 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists against Florida.

Auburn’s Johni Broome was tabbed as the SEC’s Player of the Week.

With this recognition, Dillingham became the fourth Kentucky freshman to win the award this season. DJ Wagner has taken it home three times, Reed Sheppard twice, and Aaron Bradshaw once. A UK player has been recognized as SEC Freshman of the Week seven out of a possible 13 times this season.

Under Calipari, Kentucky has earned 131 weekly SEC honors, more than any other program, including 101 Freshman of the Week winners.

Through 20 games played this season (coming off the bench in 19 of them), Dillingham is posting per-game averages of 15.3 points, 3.9 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in 23.7 minutes. The Hickory, North Carolina native is shooting 48.3 percent overall, 41.3 percent from deep, and 74.1 percent from the free-throw line.

Dillingham and No. 17 Kentucky will be in action again on Tuesday night when the Wildcats head down to Nashville for a matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. EST on the SEC Network.