ACC:
UVA dominated Syracuse this past
weekend and won their first regular season ACC championship since 1981. While
the unbalanced scheduling certainly takes some of the luster off of this achievement,
there is no denying that the Cavaliers have been the class of the league the
past two months with their suffocating defense. Meanwhile in a back and forth
player of the year race there is one player that has elevated himself to the
top of the class.
Player
of the Year:
TJ
Warren (NC State) – 24.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg
You can say what you want about NC
State being a middle of the road team who most likely won’t make the NCAA tournament,
but it is hard to dispute the fact that TJ Warren has been by far and away the
best player in the league. In a one point loss against North Carolina, Warren
was unstoppable putting up 36 points on 13-25 shooting. While he only put up 20
points on Saturday in a loss to Miami, he bounced back on Monday night by going
for an ACC high 41 points in an upset road win against Pittsburgh going 16-22. Warren
is first in the league in scoring by a wide margin averaging 24.5 points per
game on 51.9% shooting. Despite being the focal point of every team’s defensive
efforts he has shot over 50% in 10 out of his last 11 games which is pretty remarkable.
Yes, NC State is an average team, but without Warren they would be at the
bottom of the league fighting with the Hokies for last place honors.
Players that could potentially steal
votes away from Warren are Jabari Parker and Marcus Paige. Let’s start with
Parker. The freshman is tough to guard in a one on one situation and is also a
double-double machine, however Duke currently sits tied for third in the
conference. Parker is also shooting just 43% from the field and plays
absolutely no defense. I was hesitant about making him the Player of the Year
last week and now he falls back to the first team. After hitting the game
winning lay-up in a 35 point performance against N.C. State, Marcus Paige threw
his hat in the ring for POY. Unfortunately he scored just 16 points over his
next two games. There is no denying how important Paige has been to the Tar
Heels resurgence, but his play has not been as consistent as Warren’s over the
entire ACC schedule. One other thing to remember is that last year Erick Green
was the ACC POY and his team won only four games.
All
Conference Team:
Jabari
Parker (Duke) – 16.8 ppg, 9.7 rpg
After three games in one week it was
a quite one for Duke last week with only an easy win over the Virginia Tech
Hokies. Parker had another subpar shooting performance going 3-11 from the
floor but still put up 12 rebounds to go with his 11 points. Parker is
currently shooting 43% from the floor and 29% from the three point line.
Marcus
Paige (UNC)
– 15.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.9 apg
Paige came back down to earth in two
close wins over Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, but his performance against N.C.
State removed any question about his first team status. In an overtime win
against the Wolfpack, Paige hit seven three’s and put up 35 points, six
rebounds, and five assists on 11-21 shooting. Oh yeah, he hit the game winning
lay-up to boot. Not bad for a sophomore whose play has certainly turned the Tar
Heels around after a 1-4 start in ACC play. During UNC’s twelve game win streak
Paige is averaging 17.1 ppg despite being the main focus of opponent’s game in
and game out.
Malcolm
Brogdon (Virginia) – 15 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3 apg, 1.4 spg
The red-shirt sophomore has been UVA’s
best and most consistent player throughout their remarkable 16-1 conference
run. Brogdon is the only player in the ACC to score in double figures every
game. Against Cuse he went for 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists. A
great all-around player, he also hit the game winning three at Pittsburgh to
give the Cavaliers their biggest road win to-date and is the conference leader
in free throw percentage.
C.J.
Fair (Syracuse) – 16.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg and KJ McDaniels (Clemson) – 17.1 rpg, 7.7 rpg
It’s tough to give a first team
award to just one of these two players. While Syracuse as a team has fallen
off, Fair is still going strong averaging 17.1 ppg. He scored 28 in a loss to
Georgia Tech and has scored in double figures in every game but one so far in
the ACC. Meanwhile, Clemson was supposed to finish No. 14 in the conference and
they sit at 10-7 thanks to the play of McDaniels. Over the weekend in a win
against Maryland, McDaniels went for 26 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks. He
is currently second in the league in blocks and an absolute freak of nature.
Freshman
of the Year:
Jabari
Parker (Duke)
PAC-12:
Arizona clinched the PAC-12 regular
season championship with a home win over Stanford on Sunday. After slipping
against Arizona State, the Wildcats have righted the ship and are 4-0 over the
past two weeks with a trip to Oregon on deck. UCLA has second place wrapped up
even though they dropped a home game to Oregon when their top two players in
Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams were suspended.
Player
of the Year:
Kyle
Anderson (UCLA) – 15.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 6.9 apg
Despite missing the Oregon game due
to a suspension, Anderson is still the PAC-12 player of the year due to his all
around stellar play. After sitting out, Anderson went for 14 points, nine
rebounds and five assists in a win against Oregon State. He puts up a near
triple double every game and only has two games under 10 points.
All
Conference Team:
Nick
Johnson (Arizona) – 16 ppg, 4 rpg
Johnson will surely get a lot of
PAC-12 POY votes and he is the best player on the best team in the league;
however his play and shooting certainly went south for a stretch including a
5-20 performance against Arizona State. He scored 22 points in a blowout win
against California on 7-14 shooting and then added 11 points in the conference
clinching win against Stanford.
Delon
Wright (Utah) – 17.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4.9 apg
The Utah stat-stuffer was busy again
in a rivalry win against Colorado. Wright went for 21 points on 7-9 shooting
and added five rebounds and four assists. In his past two games he is 14-16
from the floor. The Utes have been outstanding at home and competitive all year
with Wright being the main reason. He has scored in double figures in every
game and has to be one of the most underrated players in the country.
Justin
Cobbs (California) – 17.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.6 apg
Cobbs and the Bears struggled in a
trip down to Arizona going 0-2 and certainly are not the same team that started
conference play 5-0. Cobbs has scored in double figures in all games but one
including 12 and 15 against Arizona and Arizona State, respectively. With two
home games left, the Bears will need a strong weekend from their leader.
Jahii
Carson (Arizona State) – 18.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.7 apg
The Sun Devils are 2-1 in their last
three games and Carson has gone for 26, 9, and 28 in those games. When he
scored 26 against Stanford he went an efficient 8-11 from the field and last
night in a road loss in Eugene he went 10-19. Carson made it clear that he was
going pro early this past weekend and has one game left against Oregon State to
show off the speed and athletic ability that Sun Devil fans will soon miss.
Freshman
of the Year:
Aaron
Gordon (Arizona) – 11.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg
Gordon put together one of his best
games in a win over Stanford with 19 points and 15 rebounds. After only scoring
three points in a win against Utah, Gordon went for 23 and eight at Colorado
and then scored 13 points against Cal. Gordon has been the
front runner for this award all year; however Nigel Williams-Goss is not far
behind. The Washington freshman is averaging 14.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 3.9 apg
while shooting 48 percent from the field.
Big
10:
The dust has finally settled from
the Big 10 race and Michigan has emerged victorious after their blowout win in
Champaign. Despite losing Mitch McGary, the Wolverines have only lost three
games in one of, if not the toughest conference from top to bottom.
Player
of the Year:
Nick
Stauskas (Michigan) – 16.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.6 apg
Stauskas struggled for a few games
in the middle of the Big 10 season but was on fire this past week. In a win
against Minnesota, Stauskas scored 21 points on 5-8 shooting from behind the
arc and then followed that up against Illinois with seven threes. Throughout
the Big 10 season Stauskas has been the leader of the Wolverines and is
shooting 41-90 from the three point line.
All
Conference Team:
Roy
Devyn Marble (Iowa) – 18.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.3 apg
Iowa got back on the winning track
with a win against Purdue and Marble continues his stellar play with 21 points
and five assists. The athletic wing has scored in double figures in all Big 10
games and has 20 or more in four of his last five.
Terran
Petteway (Nebraska) – 18.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg
After stellar play during Nebraska’s
five game win streak, Petteway came back to earth going 5-18 in a loss to
Illinois and then 3-12 in a win against Northwestern. Despite these shooting
performances, Petteway has put together a stellar conference campaign highlighted
by his 35 point, six rebound performance earlier in the year.
Gary
Harris (Michigan State) – 17.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.6 apg
The Spartans are on a two game
losing streak after another home loss over the weekend. Despite the losses,
Harris has picked up his shooting with nine threes in the past two games. The
pre-season conference player of the year has not lived up to that top billing
but the Spartans usually don’t play their best until its tournament time.
Sam
Decker (Wisconsin) – 12.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg
The Badgers have won seven games in
a row and Decker’s versatility has been a main reason why. Against Indiana,
Decker scored 16 points to go with seven rebounds and then added seven points
and eight rebounds against Penn State.
Freshman
of the Year:
Noah
Vonleh (Indiana) – 11.8 ppg, 9.1 rpg
Vonleh missed Indiana’s last game,
but he had 18 points and six rebounds in a win over Iowa. The future top 10
draft pick is almost averaging a double-double and has been in the leader seat
for this award all year.
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