Beverley Earns Dick Vitale Award Named SEC Freshman of the Week

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas freshman guard Patrick Beverley has been named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week and Dick Vitale’s “Diaper Dandy of the Week” after recording one of the top five scoring performances by a freshman in school history on Friday.

The Razorbacks (1-0) topped Southeast Missouri State, 92-52, winning their season-opener for the 13th straight time and their home-opener for the 33rd consecutive season.

Beverley scored a game-high 29 points, which is the most for a Razorback in a season-opener since All-American Sidney Moncrief had 30 as a senior against Oklahoma in the 1979 opener.

The Chicago native was 11-of-13 from the floor, including six-of-seven on three-pointers. He was five-of-six from the field, all threes, and one-of-two at the line in the first half for 16 points. He was six-of-seven, one-of-one on threes, for 13 points in the second half.

Beverley also had five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

He scored his 29 points in only 28 minutes of playing time.

His point total ties for the fourth-highest for a freshman in school history. Scotty Thurman holds the freshman mark with a pair of 34-point games in 1993 against Missouri and Ole Miss. Joe Johnson scored 30 against Mississippi State in 1990, Todd Day had 29 against Houston in 1989 and Sidney Moncrief scored 29 against Texas Tech in 1976.

Including all first-year players, his 29 points tie for 26th on Arkansas’ list. Sixteen of those were junior college transfers and five were by sophomores before freshmen were eligible to play in their first year.

Arkansas plays host to Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for 2:05 p.m., but was moved after Arkansas’ football game at Mississippi State that day was scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.