TicketsKirkland Cops C-USA Honors, UC Climbs in Polls
Contact: Brian Teter
1/10/2005
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Armein Kirkland, who averaged 20.0 points in leading the University of Cincinnati to a pair of Conference USA victories last week, has been named Conference USA Player of the Week.
Kirkland scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to key the Bearcats? 83-54 victory over DePaul in their C-USA opener on Wednesday. The 6-8 junior from Tyler, Texas tallied 22 points, one shy of his career scoring high, in Saturday?s victory over Saint Louis.
Kirkland shot .593 from the field and was 6-of-14 from 3-point range. He also averaged 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists during the two games, and he is the first Bearcat to earn C-USA honors this season.
Cincinnati's victories, which upped its season record to 13-1, drew a big boost in both polls. UC climbed seven spots, from No. 20 to No. 13, in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, and rose from No. 23 to No. 18 in the Associated Press rankings.
The Bearcats visit East Carolina on Wednesday (Jan. 12) and host No. 19 Louisville on Saturday (Jan. 15).