All Conference Wrap-Up: Week 4

Each week The Intentional Foul takes a look at the top players in each of the BCS conferences (sorry Mountain West) and selects a Player of the Year, All-Conference Team, and a Freshman of the Year. In the 2013-14 season all teams play 18 conference games over a span of 2.5 months. While most fans only see the pre-season and post-season awards, this feature will monitor the ebbs and flows of conference play with weekly awards. Big East and Big XII awards are written by Dan Russo, a life-long Hoya fan while the AAC and SEC conferences are covered by Stephen Kalayil, a Louisville alum. All awards are free of bias but for any disagreement feel free to send out a tweet.

BIG 12:

Kansas got back on the winning track this week with two fairly easy wins over Baylor in Waco and against West Virginia. While the Jayhawks sit alone in first place the biggest news of the weekend came down in Lubbock with Marcus Smart’s shove. The pre-season player of the year will now be forced to sit out a three game suspension as the Pokes sit a disappointing 4-6 in conference play.

Player of the Year:

Melvin Ejim (Iowa State) – 21.7 ppg, 9 rpg

Ejim - The new B12 POY

Ejim had a huge week leading ISU to a 2-0 record and put up the best stat line of the season. Before we get to his game of the year, Ejim first went for 22 points and 13 rebounds in a thrilling triple OT win at Oklahoma State. He then exploded for 48 points and 18 rebounds in Saturday’s win over TCU on a ridiculous 20-24 shooting display. Ejim’s play has really picked up as Iowa State has recovered from a mid-season swoon. During conference play Ejim leads the Big 12 in scoring at 21.7 and is second in rebounding at nine per game. 

All Conference Team: 

Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) – 16.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg

The best player on the best team, Wiggins led the Jayhawks to a 2-0 week to bounce back from their only conference loss. He displayed his overall game against Baylor with 14 points, seven boards, five assists, three steals, and two blocks. Then Wiggins went for 19, four, and three in a win against WVU. In conference play, he is averaging over 16.5 points and nearly seven rebounds.  

Deandre Kane (Iowa State) – 17.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 6.2 apg

Kane nearly had a triple double in Monday’s win at OSU, going for 26, nine, and nine. For the year, he’s averaging over 17 points, five boards, and six assists in conference play. He also leads the league with 2 thefts per game.  

Juwan Staten (West Virginia) – 20.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.4 apg

Staten continues to lead a surprising WVU team that went 1-1 against two ranked opponents this week. He went for 20 and 10 in an upset win against Oklahoma and then had 22 points in a loss to Kansas. The junior guard is second in the conference in scoring at 20.5 points while pulling down 5.5 boards and dishing out over 5.5 assists per game in conference play. Perhaps most impressive is that the 6’1 Staten shoots a ridiculous 53.5% in conference play.

Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State) – 18 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.6 apg

This may be the last time Smart appears on this list. He shoved a fan at Texas Tech which will result in a three game suspension right as his team is on a 4 game losing streak. However, between the lines, Smart is clearly one of the five best players in the conference. He averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 boards, and 2.5 assists in two losses this week. For the season Smart is averaging 18 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per conference contest.  

Freshman of the Year:

Andrew Wiggins (Kansas)

As a first team Big 12 selection Wiggins gets the nod for Freshman of the Year; however no one had a better week than Kansas State freshman Marcus Foster. In their one game this week, an upset win against Texas Foster went for 34 points while chipping in three boards and three assists. For the season, Foster is averaging 16 per game in conference play. 

ACC:

All of the ACC teams have now played over 10 conference games and a clear top tier has emerged in the ACC race between Syracuse, UVA, and duke. Pitt has struggled against tough competition and sits a rung below the top with a 8-3 record. UNC has won five in a row against middling ACC teams but has Duke and Pitt on deck in the Dean Dome. In Week 4 of conference play there has been a bit of a shake-up in the All-Conference selections.

Player of the Year:

C.J. Fair (Syracuse) – 16.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg

Fair struggled in a win against Notre Dame, but got back into his player of the year form in a win against Clemson with 19 points and seven rebounds. In their nationally televised game of the week against Duke, Fair stepped up his game and scored 28 points to go along with five rebounds. Fair spent the first two weeks on the first team before moving up to the POY but could see his spot over taken as the schedule gets tougher.

All Conference Team:

Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia) – 15.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.8 spg

The multi-faceted Brogdon is not getting a lot of national love but has stepped up his play significantly once conference play kicked in gear. This past week UVA went 2-0 with an easy win over BC and a road win at Georgia Tech where the Cavaliers used a 20-1 run to close the game out. Sitting at 9-1 in the ACC, the Cavaliers continued their strong play at home from last year, but also have learned how to win on the road. Against BC, Brogdon scored 17 points to go with 11 rebounds, and seven assists. In Atlanta, Brogdon struggled from the field, but got to the free throw line and scored 14 points to go with 11 rebounds marking his second straight double-double. Right now Brogdon is just a step below Fair in POY talks but the Cavs could conceivably enter their second to last game of the season with a 13-1 ACC record. 

Jabari Parker (Duke) – 16.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg

Parker concluded a fantastic week with his best conference game of the year going for 29 points and 16 rebounds against an over-matched BC team in Boston. After a rough first few weeks in conference play, Parker has started attacking the basket every chance he gets putting pressure on the opponent. Usually a match-up mis-match at the power forward position, Parker has notched double digit rebounding efforts in four of his past six games. While only shooting 26% from the three point line, Parker shot 8-10 from the field in a win over Wake and 12-17 in the Blue Devils win against BC. 

Lamar Patterson (Pittsburgh) – 17.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.5 apg

The Panthers won two overtime games this week against the bottom feeders of the ACC: Miami and Virginia Tech. In a weekday win at Miami, Patterson put together another impressive state line of 25 points and four assists. In a double overtime victory against the Hokies, Patterson had an uncharacteristically bad game scoring one point in regulation before finishing with five points and five assists on 1-9 shooting. Patterson spent the first two weeks as the conference POY, but struggled in a loss to Duke along with the Virginia Tech game.

Marcus Paige (North Carolina) – 15.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.3 apg

Paige makes his first appearance in the All-Conference watch after averaging 20.5 ppg and 6.5 apg in wins over Maryland and Notre Dame this past week. After getting embarrassed by UVA in January, North Carolina has won five conference games in a row and the sharp shooting Paige is averaging 18 ppg and 6 apg in those wins. After a slow-start to conference play, Paige is re-gaining his stroke just in time for a tough stretch against Duke, Pittsburgh, and Florida State.

Freshman of the Year:

Jabari Parker (Duke)

For the first time this year, Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis does not take away top freshman billing. Ennis is still the engine that makes Syracuse go, but Parker has turned his play up another level over the past few weeks. Ennis is still averaging 11.9 ppg, 6.1 apg, and a 3.4 A/TO ratio but scored only six points in a win against Notre Dame and another six against Clemson. This award will most likely go back and forth over the next few weeks between Parker and Ennis.

SEC:

Florida remained undefeated and sits at the top of the SEC with a 10-0 record; however the Gators have two daunting road tests this week. First they play at Tennessee and then they go to Lexington for a weekend match-up. Kentucky went undefeated in conference play two years ago, will the Gators be able to follow their lead?

Player of the Year:

Julius Randle (Kentucky) – 13.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg

Randle holds on to being the SEC player of the year with strong performances against Ole Miss and Mississippi State.  Against Ole Miss (currently in third place in the SEC), Randle had 12 points and five boards while going 8-10 from the charity stripe. In a win over Miss State, he netted 16 points and seven rebounds for the second place Wildcats. Next week, Randle will have his toughest challenge of the season against a powerful Florida Gator frontline.  

All Conference Team: 

Jabari Brown (Missouri) – 22.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg

Despite Missouri dropping three games in a row to the top three SEC teams (UK, UF and Ole Miss), Brown has still been very consistent. In SEC play, Brown is averaging 22.4 PPG which is tops in the league.  He’s shooting a scorching 51.6% (#1 SEC) from 3 point land and 87.5 % from the free throw line (#3 SEC).  If Brown can will the Tigers to a few more wins and a tourney birth, he’ll be the player of the year in the SEC.  

Scotty Wilbekin (Florida) – 13.2 ppg, 3.4 apg

The Wildebeest’s stellar week has landed him on the all conference team. He had a career high 19 points in a big win against Mizzou, including several clutch free throws. Against a scrappy Alabama team, he had 16 points (3-5 from 3 point land), three assists and four rebounds.  Scottie’s stats are not overwhelming (13.2 PPG and 3.4 assists in SEC play), but he’s beginning to produce consistently and trending in the right direction for the SEC leading and #3 ranked Gators.  He’ll have tough challenge next week with the dynamic UK backcourt, led by Andrew Harrison.  

Jarnell Stokes (Tennessee) – 14.1 ppg, 11.7 rpg

Stokes had a strong week in a loss to Vandy and win against South Carolina.  Stokes is the only player in the SEC to be averaging a double-double in conference play with 14.1 PPG and 11.7 RPG (#1 in SEC).      

Johnny O’Bryant (LSU) – 16.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg

O’Bryant had a tough game against an average Georgia squad and was held to nine points and two boards after having monster games against UK and Arkansas. He rebounded nicely against Auburn with a 19 point, 10 rebound performance. In SEC play, O’Bryant is averaging 16.6 points (#11) and 7.2 rebounds (#7) for an up and down LSU team that is fighting to get into the NCAA tourney.

Freshman of the Year:

Julius Randle (Kentucky)

Big 10:

The Big 10 continues to be the toughest conference from top to bottom as both Michigan and Michigan State lost on the road over the weekend. The Spartans lost on a last second Wisconsin shot without the services of Keith Appling and Brandon Dawson, but they did regain the services of big man Adrien Payne this past week. The Player of the Year is a complete toss-up with a first time winner this week.

Player of the Year:

Roy Devyn Marble (Iowa) – 17.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.2 apg

Iowa went 1-1 this past week with an early home loss to Iowa followed up by a blowout home win against Michigan. Marble scored 26 points against the Wolverines while going 6-10 from the three point line. He struggled against the Buckeyes but is still averaging almost 18 points per game in conference play. The Hawkeyes have two road games coming up against Penn State and Indiana and will need Marble to play up to his billing as POY if they want to avoid a letdown in Happy Valley.

All-Conference Team:

Gary Harris (Michigan State) – 17.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.4 apg

Earlier Harris was a POY candidate but has struggled over the past three games including a dreadful 3-20 performance on a Sunday loss to Wisconsin. Missing his point guard in Keith Appling, Harris went 0-7 from the three point line, but added in seven rebounds. In his first eight games of conference play Harris scored 13 or more in all games but now has only scored 29 points over the last three conference games.

Nick Stauskas (Michigan) – 15.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.1 apg

Another player that struggled this past week was sharp-shooting sophomore Nick Stauskas. In a blowout win against Nebraskas, Stauskas scored nine points on three shots but added eight assists. In a blowout loss against Iowa, Stauskas scored 10 points on just six shots. Big 10 teams are obviously trying to limit Stauskas’ shots like Duke did earlier in the year and he has only hit three, three pointers in his last four games after hitting five in a road win against Michigan State.

Terran Petteway (Nebraska) – 17.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg

Despite playing for one of the bottom feeders of the Big 10, Nebraska is surprisingly 4-6 in the Big 10 after a win against Northwestern on Saturday. In the win, Petteway scored 17 points and added eight rebounds and four assists. He struggled in a blowout loss to Michigan but prior to that he scored 35 points against Minnesota on 10-15 shooting and 18 points against Indiana, both wins. The Cornhuskers still do not have the necessary overall talent level required for the Big 10, but Petteway definitely does.

Keith Appling (Michigan State) – 14.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.7 apg

Appling has missed the last two Big 10 games (Penn State and Wisconsin) but stays on the first team with his overall strong play in leading the Spartans to the top of the rankings. The senior point guard has scored double figures in all games he has played besides for one and is also the unquestioned leader of Izzo’s squad.

Freshman of the Year:

Noah Vonleh (Indiana) – 11.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg

No surprise here. For the fourth week in a row, Indiana’s big man Noah Vonleh takes home the freshman of the year award. Coming close to averaging a double-double Vonleh had a 12 point, 12 rebound performance in a loss to Minnesota. Nik Irvin for Michigan is starting to put up some nice point totals, but no one comes close to approaching Vonleh’s consistency. He has scored in double figures seven out of 10 games while also getting nine or more rebounds in seven of 10 as well.

PAC 12:

In a conference where everyone is competitive (besides USC and Washington State) Arizona managed to go 2-0 at home against the Oregon teams to stay comfortably atop the PAC-12 standings. With the talent level much improved on the West Coast there is enough talent to pick two different all-conference teams.

Player of the Year:

Kyle Anderson (UCLA) – 15.9 ppg, 8.8 rbg, 6.6 apg

The Bruins got the road win on Saturday against their LA rival and Slo-Mo almost recorded a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. The multi-dimensional Anderson is having a statistical season like none other and the Bruins sit in second place with a 7-3 record. The PAC-12 player of the year has been a toss-up so far and this week Anderson makes his perch at the top.

All Conference Team:

Nick Johnson (Arizona) – 15.8 ppg, 3.5 rbg

Johnson scored 18 points against Oregon and ten points against Oregon State to help keep the Wildcats afloat after losing sophomore starter Brandon Ashley. Johnson has been the key player for the top team in the conference all year long and has scored in double digits nine out of 11 games. 

Jahii Carson (Arizona State) – 18.5 ppg, 4.8 rbg, 3.9 apg

Arizona State is the hottest team in the PAC-12 winning five of their last six and Carson is one of the main reasons why (along with Jordan Bachynski). In an overtime win against Oregon State, Carson went for 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists. He followed that up with an uncharacteristically bad shooting day, but still added 12 rebounds and six assists. 

Justin Cobbs (California) – 18.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.9 apg

California has fallen hard from their 5-0 start, but Cobbs is still plugging along with 18.5 ppg and 5.9 apg. The Bears suffered a home loss to Stanford in their only game of the week, but Cobbs put up 24 points, five rebounds, and four assists. 

Chasson Randle (Stanford) / Delon Wright (Utah)

With three people deserving of the last slot it’s Randle and Wright who get the nod. Randle led the Cardinals to a win over California with 19 points and is averaging 19 points and four rebounds per game. Wright led the Utes to two home wins against Washington State and Washington and is averaging 17.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 4.9 apg. 

Freshman of the Year:

Aaron Gordon (Arizona) – 10.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg

A strong Sunday night performance against Oregon State kept Gordon in this spot. Nigel Williams-Goss has averaged 19.3 ppg over his last four games but he has shot better than 50 percent in only one. After three subpar offensive games, Gordon scored 17 points on 8-10 shooting Sunday night. For now Gordon keeps his status as the top freshmen, but his free throw shooting has kept him on the bench in crunch time and could catch up to him in this race.

Big East:

The Big East gave Creighton a tough schedule this week and in turn the Blue Jays suffered an upset loss in NYC to St. John’s just two days after a home win against DePaul. Villanova had an easy win over Seton Hall and has now won five in a row and Xavier is still hanging around at 6-4. While the Big East regular season title is up for grabs, the Player of the Year is pretty much locked up.

Player of the Year:

Doug McDermott (Creighton) – 25 ppg, 7.1 rpg

Dougie McBuckets keeps Creighton right on rolling, as he dropped 32 and 9 in their win at Depaul and had 25 and 5 in an upset loss to St. John’s. The consensus first team All-American is averaging a crazy 25 per game in conference, shooting over 50% from the field and is also fourth in the conference at 7.1 rebounds per game. 

All Conference Team: 

Semaj Christon (Xavier) – 19.8 ppg, 4 apg

A regular on this list, Christon led Xavier to a 1-1 week with the blemish coming against Villanova. He is averaging nearly 20 points per game in conference, shooting a blistering 55.2% from the point guard spot and dishing out four assists per game. 

Bryce Cotton (Providence) – 22.4 ppg, 6.2 apg

Cotton, the conference’s second leading scoring and top assist man, has kept Providence in the top half of the conference. Even in two losses this week Cotton averaged over 20 points and dished out 6.5 assists.

  

JayVaughn Pinkston / James Bell (Villanova) 

It’s becoming more and more difficult to discern who the best player on Villanova’s first place team is. This top-10 team in the nation is led by JayVaughn Pinkston and James Bell. Pinkston was the team’s best player earlier in the year and Bell has really picked his game up as of late. Pinkston averaged 15 and seven in two wins this week and is averaging 14.6 ppg and 6.4 rpg while Bell averaged 19 and seven this week and 15.5 ppg and 5.4 rpg for the conference season. The guess here is that Bell ends up taking this spot, but for now these two are nearly indistinguishable.

DSR/ Markel Starks (Georgetown)

The dynamic Georgetown backcourt has kept the Hoyas from the bottom of the Big East standings. The pair, easily the best backcourt in the conference appears to have righted the ship after a six game losing streak with three straight wins, including one against Michigan State. The duo is both averaging 18 points per game in conference. Starks is the assist man with 3.6 assists per game and DSR grabs the boards with almost five per game. Starks has really picked his game up lately and is showing why he was a pre-season first team selection. 

Freshman of the Year:

Rysheed Jordan (St. John’s) – 9.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.8 apg

In a spot that has been up for the taking this season, Jordan staked his claim to the freshman of the year with two big games this week. Rysheed had 18 points, six assists, four boards, and three steals in a win over Providence and had five points, five rebounds, and seven assists in an upset win over #12 Creighton. As Jordan’s minutes continue to rise I wouldn’t be surprised to see him take control in this player of the year race against a less than stellar crop of freshman led by Billy Garrett Jr. of DePaul. 

AAC:

Cincinnati suffered their first conference loss this year down in Texas and now the upstart Mustangs sit just two games back. Louisville sits at 8-2 while Memphis had a gritty come from behind out of conference win against Gonzaga.

AAC POY: 

Sean Kilpatrick (Cincinnati) – 20.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg

It’s been the Sean Kilpatrick show for the Bearcats this season and he’s edged out Shabazz Napier for AAC POY.  In a big win against #22 UCONN, Kilpatrick had 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. He out-dueled UCONN’s Shabazz Napier and helped hold him to 16 points which is his third lowest point total in AAC competition. Kilpatrick helped ice the win with several clutch free throws for the Bearcats. In a stunning loss to SMU, Kilpatrick was the only bright spot for UC with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal.  He has scored in double figures in every conference game.

All Conference Team: 

Shabazz Napier (UCONN) – 20.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.3 apg

Napier has been nothing short of spectacular all season, but in the match-up of AAC top teams, Sean Kilpatrick and the Bearcats got the best of him.  Shabazz for the first time this season looked ordinary against UC.  Napier is still the second leading scorer in the AAC and leader in assists, but will need to get a few more notable AAC wins to take the top spot back

Russ Smith (Louisville) – 20.1 ppg, 4.4 apg.

Russdiculous had a solid game against lowly Houston by scoring 19 points and dishing out six assists in a lopsided win for the Cardinals.  Smith’s 20.1 PPG, 4.4 APG and, two SPG keep him as one of the elite AAC players this season.  He’ll have his hands full next week against high scoring guard Dalton Pepper of Temple.  

Montrezl Harrell (Louisville) – 13.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg

Trez is continuing his steady play for the Cardinals by posting 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks against the Houston Cougars. Harrell in recent weeks has been displaying a myriad of low post moves that have made him very hard to guard in the AAC. If he continues to play this way, he‘ll end up being a lottery pick.

   

Markus Kennedy (SMU) – 13.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg

Kennedy has easily been the best big man in the AAC at this point in the season.  This past week in SMU’s upset of #7 Cincy, Kennedy had a quiet game statistically, but made his presence felt by playing great defense and helping get UC’s Justin Jackson in foul trouble.  The Philly native had 14 points, three steals, and nine rebounds in a 20 point drubbing of Temple.  His 13.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG (#2 AAC) and 2.2 steals (#2 AAC) have helped SMU become the surprise team of the conference.   

Freshman of the Year:

Austin Nichols (Memphis) – 7.8 ppg, 3.4 rbg

Nichols notched his best game as a collegiate player with 18 points (8-9 FG) and three rebounds against Rutgers this past week. Nichols has been a starter for the majority of the season and is beginning to find is role on a talented Memphis team.  Previous AAC freshman of the year candidate, Terry Rozier has been playing solid minutes and contributing for Louisville, but lost his starting spot to junior, Chris Jones.  

-Sean Moran (ACC, P12, B10)
-Dan Russo (B12, BE)
-Stephen Kalayil (AAC, SEC)