Tennessee Basketball freshman Julian Phillips has won SEC Freshman of the Week, the conference announced Monday. Phillips recorded 28 points and 15 rebounds in Tennessee’s pair of road wins against Mississippi State and LSU last week.
#SECMBB 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐬
ꜰʀᴇꜱʜᴍᴀɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴇᴇᴋJulian Phillips • @Vol_Hoops
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— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) January 23, 2023
Phillips was dominant in both of Tennessee’s wins, scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds against Mississippi State and 10 points and four rebounds against LSU.
The freshman’s double-double against the Bulldogs was his second as a Vol, and 18 points were the most Phillips has scored in SEC play. Phillips’ performance against Mississippi State was incredibly significant for Tennessee, as the Vols were missing two starters in Santiago Vescovi and Tyreke Key. The Blythewood, South Carolina, native specifically delivered in the second half of Tennessee’s 70-59 win over MSU, compiling 13 of his 18 points.
Additionally, Phillips logged a career-high 37 minutes in the close win.
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Against LSU, Phillips recorded his 10th double-digit scoring performance of the season in the Vols’ dominant 77-56 win over the Tigers.
Phillips also made four three-pointers in total last week. Prior to the pair of games, Phillips had only connected from deep twice in SEC competition.
The Link Academy High School product has become a great force for the fourth-ranked Vols, shooting .568 from the field and averaging 9.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game during conference play.
Phillips and the Vols are back in Knoxville after last week’s road trips, and Tennessee’s next game is against Georgia in Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
