Malik Monk Guides Kentucky To 25-5 Mark, 15-2 Leading SEC

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, February 28, 2017

With only Texas A&M remaining on the regular season schedule, the Kentucky Wildcats are on the verge of winning their 3rd straight SEC title, after downing Vanderbilt Tuesday, 73-67.

Fueled by super sub, Malik Monk, the Wildcats overcame a six-point halftime deficit, scoring 49 in the second 20 minutes to win going away.

Monk went 8-for-21 from the field, but made up for his dull shooting at the free throw line, where he canned nine of ten attempts.

A 6'3" freshman from Lepanto, Arkansas, Monk scored 33 on Saturday to lead the Wildcats over their closest conference rival, Florida, 76-66. Kentucky has a 1 1/2 game lead in the standings with just one game left. The Wildcats pounded Texas A&M earlier in the season, 100-58. While that game was at Rupp Arena and Saturday's final is a road game, there's little doubt as to the final result.

Malik Monk Leads Kentucky Over Georgia In Overtime

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, January 31, 2017

As fabulous freshmen go, Kentucky's Malik Monk ranks among the most "fab."

Monk, who has scored in double digits every time he's taken the floor (22 games), is averaging a solid 22.4 points per outing.

In Tuesday's meeting with the Georgia Bulldogs - incidentally, the final broadcast game for legendary announcer, Brent Musberger - Monk showed off his range, hitting on 7 of 11 three-point attempts and scoring a game-high 37 points.

After just six points in the first half, Monk carried the Wildcats in the second stanza, scoring 23 points to help Kentucky tie the score at 76 and send the game into overtime. He added eight points in OT, outscoring Georgia himself, 8-5, as the Wildcats pulled away from the Bulldogs for a 90-81 victory.

While the 8th-ranked Wildcats avoided a three game losing streak after losses at Tennessee (82-80) and to Kansas (79-73), Monk's 37 points were outstanding and necessary, though still shy of his best effort to date, a 47-point scoring spree in Kentucky's 103-100 win over North Carolina on December 17. In that game, Monk was 18-for-28 from the field, hitting 8 of 12 threes.

In Tuesday's victory over Georgia, the freshman star was 11-for-20, but hit a career-high 10 free throws on 12 attempts.

The Wildcats next match-up is with another SEC opponent, #24 Florida, on Saturday (2/4).