Per Duke Sports Information
February 8, 2016
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke guard Luke Kennard was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday for his efforts in helping lead the Blue Devils to wins over Georgia Tech and NC State on Feb. 2 and Feb. 6, respectively.
The honor is the first of the season for Kennard and the fourth ACC Rookie of the Week award for Duke on the campaign, as Brandon Ingram has captured the acclaim on three occasions. Coupled with Grayson Allen’s two Player of the Week nods, Duke has claimed six ACC weekly awards in 2015-16.
The Franklin, Ohio, native averaged 17.0 points – second-best on the team – as the Blue Devils won at Georgia Tech on Tuesday and earned a home win over NC State on Saturday. He shot 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the floor, including a 6-of-12 mark from three-point range, and knocked down each of his six free throw attempts on the week.
Kennard scored six crucial points down the stretch of Duke’s win in Atlanta after Georgia Tech narrowed the Blue Devils’ lead to single digits. In addition to a fastbreak dunk off of a feed from Matt Jones, Kennard sank four free throws in the final minutes of the game to ice the victory.
In Saturday’s win over NC State, Kennard was a difference-maker with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor. He went 6-of-11 from three-point territory to tie Duke’s freshman record for three-pointers in a game. The performance also extended Kennard’s Duke record for 20-point games off the bench by a freshman to four, and was his fifth 20-point game of the season.
He added four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 32 minutes off the bench against NC State.
For the season, Kennard ranks third on the team in scoring with an average of 12.5 points per game while shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and leading the NCAA in free throw percentage at 92.2 percent (71-of-77).
Duke will play the second of three consecutive home games tonight when it hosts No. 13 Louisville at 7 p.m. ET as part of ESPN’s Big Monday.
