PAC 12:
Arizona
dropped another game in a devastating double overtime loss to the in-state
rival. While the Wildcats are hurting big time without Brandon Ashley, the Sun
Devils and Bruins are streaking.
Player of the Year:
Kyle Anderson (UCLA) – 16.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 6.8 apg
Another two
easy wins for the Bruins and all of a sudden they are just one game back with
six to go. Slo-Mo continued his impressive statistical season with 22 points,
seven rebounds, and 11 assists against Colorado and then turned around and
scored 16 points against Utah with ten rebounds and five assists.
All Conference Team:
Nick Johnson (Arizona) – 15.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Johnson scored
14 points in a loss to Arizona State, but the former leader for Player of the
Year has struggled mightily since Brandon Ashley went down. Johnson went 5-20
against ASU and is only 15-50 in his last four games. With several weeks left,
Johnson is going to need to find his groove again to keep the Wildcats in first
place.
Justin Cobbs (California) – 18.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 6.1
apg
California got
back on the right track taking both games in the state of Washington starting
with a tough overtime victory against Washington State. Cobbs scored 22 points
to go along with four rebounds and seven assists against Wazzou and then added
10 points, six rebounds, and seven assists in a big win at Washington. Cobbs
has scored in double figures in every conference game.
Delon Wright (Utah) – 17.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.1 apg
Utah went 1-1
on their trip to Southern California and Delon Wright put together his typical
all-around performance. In a win over USC, Wright put up 20 points, nine rebounds,
and five assists. In a loss to UCLA, Wright scored 16 points to go with six
rebounds and seven assists. The Utes are sitting at 6-7 in the PAC-12 but have
been a tough out for almost every team.
Jahii Carson / Jordan Bachynski (Arizona State)
 |
| ASU's shot blocking machine |
Arizona State
is the hottest team in the PAC-12 winning six of their last seven including an
upset win over rival Arizona on Friday. Carson is the go-to guy on offense and
is averaging 18.4 ppg, 4.75 rpg, and 4.1 apg. He struggled from the field going
7-17 from the field against Arizona, but continuously put pressure on the
defense. Another main reason for ASU’s revival is the play of center Jordan Bachynski who sealed the win
with a block. The all time conference leader in blocks has recorded 24 over the
past three games and is averaging 4.3 blocks per game to go along with almost
12 points and eight rebounds.
On the Verge – Roberto Nelson (Oregon State), CJ Wilcox
(Washington), Chasson Randle (Stanford), Josh Scott (Colorado), Xavier Johnson
(Colorado)
Freshman of the Year:
Aaron Gordon (Arizona) – 11 ppg, 8.5 rpg
Another week
on top for Aaron Gordon. He had 13 points and 10 rebounds in a double overtime
loss and would have been the hero of the game if it weren’t for Jermaine
Marshall’s hot streak. Nigel
Williams-Goss is still on his heels but struggled in a loss to Cal on
Saturday going 4-13 from the field. Williams-Goss has six games in a row in
double figures.
BIG 12:
Texas made moves going 2-0 this week with
wins over a reeling Oklahoma State squad in addition to a home win against West Virginia. The big week moved Texas
into sole possession of second place. They stand only one game back of Kansas who got an easy
win over TCU after losing to Kansas State in OT at the Octagon earlier this
week. Oklahoma State, a preseason top-10, went 0-2 this week to drop them to
4-8 in conference and put head Coach Travis Ford squarely on the hot seat. The
middle of the conference, probably the best in the nation, is a logjam with
Oklahoma, Iowa State, Kansas State, and West Virginia all within a game of each
other.
Player of the Year:
Juwan Staten (West
Virginia) – 20.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.4 apg
Regardless of whom the Mountaineers play, Staten continues to put up
stats. He almost put up a triple double against Iowa State Monday, with 19
points, seven boards, and nine assists in WVU’s easy, but hotly contested
102-77 win. Staten then went for 14, six, and seven in a weekend loss to Texas.
The junior guard leads the conference in scoring at 19.9 points while pulling
down 5.7 boards and is second in the conference dishing out over 5.7 assists
per game.
All Conference Team:
Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) –
16.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg,
Wiggins had 16 and five rebounds in an overtime loss to Kansas State, including a
remarkable play where he showed his athleticism to tie the game with less than
10 seconds left. He then went for 17, four, and four in an easy win over TCU.
Wiggins combined with Perry Ellis to lead the Jayhawks in both games as they
played with a limited Joel Embiid against the Wildcats and without him against
TCU.
Melvin Ejim (Iowa State) –
19.7 ppg, 9 rpg
Ejim had a tough week after last week’s breakout. The Cyclones had few
bright spots as they got drubbed by West Virginia 102-77 on Monday. Ejim
finished the game with six points and 12 boards. ISU bounced back against Texas
Tech on Saturday and Ejim chipped in 13 points, six rebounds, and three
assists. Even with the down week he is second in the conference in scoring and
rebounding and shooting 52% in conference play. Ejim will have to pick his game
up over the season’s final few weeks as the Cyclones compete for conference and
NCAA tournament seeding.
Deandre Kane (Iowa State)
– 16.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 6.1 apg
The stat stuffer did it again. In what is becoming a weekly occurrence,
Kane nearly had a triple double in Saturday’s win against Texas Tech, going for
17, eight, and nine. Kane is top ten in scoring, top 20 in rebounding, and
leads the conference in assists. He’s also second in the conference in steals.
Buddy Heild (Oklahoma) –
17.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Heild makes his way back onto the first team in the aftermath of
Marcus Smart’s suspension. Oklahoma was upset at home by Texas Tech on
Wednesday as Heild had a cold shooting night. He bounced back in the Bedlam
matchup with Oklahoma State on Saturday. Heild led the team with 22 points
including back to back threes in the last two minutes to tie and take the lead
for the Sooners.
On the Verge – Perry Ellis (Kansas), Marcus Foster (Kansas
State), Javan Felix (Texas), Markel Brown (Oklahoma State)
Freshman of the Year:
Andrew Wiggins (Kansas)
As first team All-Big 12 player Wiggins also gets
the nod for Freshman of the Year. However, the conference has the best
collection of freshman in the nation, including Joel Embiid, Marcus Foster,
and Isaiah Taylor.
ACC:
Only a third
of conference play remains in the ACC, and the Orange still stand undefeated in
their inaugural ACC season. Tyler Ennis hit the shot of the year to win at
Pittsburgh and then CJ Fair got the game winning lay-up against N.C. State. The
stretch gets tougher over the next few weeks with road games at Duke, UVA,
Maryland, and Florida State. In order to remain at the top, the Orange will
have to pick up their offensive production.
Player of the Year:
C.J. Fair (Syracuse) – 15.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg
Fair continues
to hold on to his ACC Player of the Year title. The Orange stayed undefeated
with two last second victories. Against Pittsburgh, Fair scored 14 points
including several key baskets at the end of the second half. Against N.C.
State, Fair only scored 11 points but had the game winning lay-up. His stats
aren’t as gaudy as some other players but his team is undefeated and he
continues to make key plays.
All Conference Team:
Jabari Parker (Duke) – 17.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg
With the
postponement of the UNC game, Duke and Parker only played once on Saturday. In
their one game, the Blue Devils needed a come from behind victory in their last
regular season conference game against Maryland. Down one, Parker caught the
ball on the wing and after getting his slower defender off balance with a jab
step he exploded to the rim for the go-ahead dunk off of one dribble. Parker
finished with 23 points and eight rebounds. He made his first three pointer in
four games and now has eight games in a row where he has recorded at least 14
points and seven rebounds.
Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia) – 15.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.7
apg, 1.5 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 a home win against Maryland and a tough road win at Clemson. UVA sits
at 12-1 in the conference with their newfound ability to win conference games
on the road. Brogdon scored 14 points in both games this week and while he didn’t
contribute in the assist or steal categories like he usually does he did add in
eight rebounds against the Tigers.
TJ Warren (N.C. State) – 22.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg
I can’t keep
Warren from this list anymore. The one man show down in Raleigh had a fantastic
week and almost gave the Orange their first ACC loss. Against Wake Forest,
Warren put up 34 points and 10 rebounds on 15-26 shooting. Against the tough
2-3 Syracuse zone, Warren scored 23 points on 11-22 shooting. Right now Warren
is leading the conference in scoring and keeping the Wolfpack afloat in the
middle of the ACC.
Tyler Ennis (Syracuse) / Marcus Paige (North
Carolina)
Ennis is the
point guard for the only undefeated team in conference play and hit the shot of
the year to beat Pitt during the week. Ennis is averaging 11.8 ppg, and 5.9 apg
to go with a 3.0 A/TO ratio. His production has slipped over the past few
weeks, but he is still coming up big in the clutch. Marcus Paige stays on the
list after his impressive 18 point, four rebound, and four assist performance
against Pittsburgh. He hit five three’s in the Dean Dome and is averaging 18
points during the Tar Heels six game winning streak. UNC only played one game
this past week due to Duke’s inability to make a 30 minute drive, but this week
will certainly test Paige. UNC starts out on the road at Florida State and then
has their make-up game against Duke and a weekend home game with Wake Forest.
On the Verge –Lamar Patterson (Pittsburgh), KJ McDaniels
(Clemson), James Michael McAdoo (UNC)
Freshman of the Year:
Jabari Parker (Duke)
Tyler Ennis
hit the shot of the year against Pittsburgh, but Parker holds on to the top
freshmen spot in the ACC as he also hit the go ahead shot against Maryland.
Ennis is averaging 11.8 ppg and 5.9 apg with a 3.3 A/TO ratio, but he has
scored in single digits in three of the last four games. This award will most
likely go back and forth over the next few weeks between Parker and Ennis.
Nebraska goes
2-0 in conference play including their biggest win of their Big 10 tenure with
an upset in East Lansing. Wisconsin went to Ann Arbor and got revenge on the
Wolverines and have now won four in a row.
Player of the Year:
Roy Devyn Marble (Iowa) – 17.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3
apg
Iowa won their
only game of the week against Penn State and Marble led the way with 15 points.
Iowa sits just one game back of first place thanks to Marble’s 17.3 ppg and 3.7
rpg. With a strong performance this week against Indiana and Wisconsin, Marble
could entrench himself at the top spot.
All-Conference Team:
Gary Harris (Michigan State) – 16.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg,
2.5 apg
The Spartans
were supposed to have an easy 2-0 week with home games against Northwestern and
Nebraska, but after an easy victory over Northwester, the Spartans were upset
on Sunday. Harris scored 14 points in a win over Northwestern and 18 points
against Nebraska. Harris had a better week than he did last week, but is still
looking forward to get his running mate back in Keith Appling.
Terran Petteway (Nebraska) – 18.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg
Despite
playing for one of the bottom feeders of the Big 10, Nebraska is surprisingly 6-6
in the Big 10 and are on a three game win streak after a 2-0 week. The
Cornhuskers beat a struggling Illinois team at home and then went to East
Lansing and took out the Spartans. Petteway led the way against the Spartans
with 23 points and five rebounds after scoring 16 points against Illinois. Not
much was expected from the Cornhuskers in their second year in the Big 10, but
so far Petteway and the Cornhuskers are making their mark.
Nick Stauskas (Michigan) – 15.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.1
apg
A surprise
road win and a tough home loss this week for Stauskas and the Wolverines. In a
win against Ohio State, Stauskas scored 15 points on 3-6 shooting from deep and
followed that up with 11 points in a loss to Wisconsin. Through the first eight
games of conference play was probably the player of the year, but over the last
five games his overall input has decreased in all statistical categories.
Ben Brust (Wisconsin) – 14.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Don’t look
now, but the Badgers are on a four game conference win streak after struggling
in January. In conference play, Brust is averaging 14.2 ppg and has knocked in
23 three pointers. In a win over Minnesota, Brust scored 20 points and in an
upset of Michigan, Brust only scored seven points but added nine rebounds.
On the Verge – Keith Appling (Michigan State), Sam Decker (Wisconsin)
Freshman of the Year:
Noah Vonleh (Indiana) – 11.3 ppg, 9.4 rpg
No surprise
here. For the fifth 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 an eight point, 12 rebound performance in a loss to Indiana and then scored
14 points to go with six rebounds in a loss to Purdue. Things are not going
well for the Hoosiers, but they are for Vonleh.
Big East:
The story of the week
was the big matchup Sunday night between Creighton and Villanova with first
place on the line. Behind Doug McDermott Creighton rolled to a 101-80 win, sweeping the
season series and giving them the inside track on the No. 1 seed in the
conference tournament. Elsewhere, St. John’s went 2-0 to solidify their spot on
the NCAA tournament bubble along with other Big East teams Providence, Xavier,
and Marquette.
Player of the Year:
Doug
McDermott (Creighton) – 25.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg
Dougie McBuckets is a stud. In the biggest conference game of the year
to date, McDermott dropped 39 on Villanova on just 17 shots which included Creighton’s first 13 points. During the game he also passed Larry Bird for 13th
place on the Division I career scoring leaders. He had 26 points and five rebounds in
Creighton’s win over Butler earlier in the week as well. McDermott, a consensus first
team All-American has a chance at passing 3,000 career points in Creighton’s
last home game if he can average 28 per game the rest of the way.
All Conference Team:
Bryce Cotton (Providence)
– 23 ppg, 6 apg
Providence went 1-1 this week, losing at Georgetown and then beating
DePaul. As I witnessed firsthand at the Georgetown game, Cotton is among the
best scorers in the country. He put up 31 points on just 14 shots,
singlehandedly giving Providence a lead late in the second half. Against
Depaul, Cotton put up 22, four rebounds, and six assists. He’s the conference’s
second leading scoring and top assist man and has kept Providence in the top half
of the conference.
Semaj
Christon (Xavier) – 18.6 ppg, 4.1 apg
Christon led Xavier to a 1-1 week with some steady play. He put up 15,
four rebounds, and three assists in a win over Butler than 10, four, and six in
a loss against fellow bubble-team Marquette. Even with a fairly unspectacular
week Christon easily keeps his spot on the first team. 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.
James Bell (Villanova) - 15.5
ppg, 5.6 rpg
Even with the tough loss at Creighton, Bell showed why he’s becoming
Villanova’s best player and go-to guy. He had 18 points and six rebounds in the
loss, and earlier in the week, he put up 16 points, eight rebounds and four
assists in a win against Depaul. Bell is shooting a very good 48% from the
field and 44% from three.
JayVaughn Pinkston (Villanova)
– 14.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg
Pinkston has probably been Villanova’s most consistent player this
year. He a quiet guy who doesn’t dominate or take a lot of shots but always has
his team in a position to win. He had 14 and 11 rebounds in a win over DePaul
on 5-7 shooting. In a lopsided loss at Creighton Pinkston had 15, five rebounds
and three assists.
On the Verge – Markel Starks (Georgetown), D’vauntes
Smith-Rivera (Georgetown), D’Angelo Harrison (St. John’s)
Freshman of the Year:
Rysheed
Jordan (St. John’s) – 10.5 ppg, 3 rpg, 3.6 apg
Jordan is solidifying his hold on this award over the past few weeks.
In a big Sunday night game against Georgetown with both conference seeding and
NCAA tournament implications Jordan had his best game of the year. He put up a
career high 22 points. Jordan also had 10 points, two
rebounds, and two assists in a win over Seton Hall earlier in the week.
Player of the Year:
AAC:
The AAC is shaping up to be a two team race
between Cincinnati (12-1) and streaking Louisville (10-2). Louisville went 2-0
this week and moved into sole possession of second place by beating Temple and
Rutgers by a combine 72 points. This
sets the stage for a showdown between the AAC elite on 2/22. Southern Methodist, the upstart of the AAC a week
ago with a win over Cincy was brought back down to reality with a loss to lowly
Temple on Sunday. In the AAC game of the
week between nationally ranked opponents, UCONN knocked of Memphis in a
thrilling overtime win to stay in the conference title hunt.
Player of the Year:
Sean
Kilpatrick (Cincinnati) – 21.2 ppg, 4.8 rbg
Going into this inaugural AAC season, most experts believed Kilpatrick
would be a top performer, but I’m not sure anyone thought he would be in the
lead for conference player of the year at this juncture of the season amongst
the household names of Russ Smith and Shabazz Napier. Kilpatrick in his only
game this week, had 28 points (19 in the second half), two rebounds, six
assists and one steal in a win over a pesky Houston team. The UC senior is still leading the AAC in
scoring and is one of leaders in steals, averaging 1.4 a game.
All Conference Team:
Shabazz
Napier (UCONN) – 20.5 ppg, 5.4 apg
After having his first single digit scoring game in conference play in
a lopsided win over USF, Napier went off for a career high 34 points against
Memphis in the AAC game of the week.
Napier battled with Memphis’s Joe Jackson all night and willed UCONN to
a win. The UCONN senior leader is still second in the league in scoring and the
leading assist man for arguably the best backcourt in the AAC.
Russ
Smith (Louisville) – 18.6 ppg, 4.6 apg
In a game I attended this week,
Smith put up 15 points, two steals, two assists and two rebounds in a win over
Temple that was postponed a day due to inclement weather in the Philadelphia
area. Against Rutgers, Russ took on more
of a distributor role with seven points, five assists and four rebounds with
only two turnovers in a lopsided win. Smith will have a tough assignment next
week against Cincinnati and leading AAC POY, Sean Kilpatrick.
Montrezl
Harrell (Louisville) – 13.3 ppg, 8.5 rbg, 1.9 bpg
Harrell
continues to improve as he leads the AAC in rebounding and is fourth in
blocks. Trez Harrell had 22 points and
10 rebounds, including a myriad of jaw dropping dunks against an overmatched
Temple front line. He had a quieter
night with just four points but had nine boards in a 48 point win over
Rutgers. Next week, Trez will get a true
test against the best frontline in the AAC with Cincinnati.
Markus
Kennedy (SMU) – 13.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg
In a win over Rutgers, Kennedy
posted a solid line of eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in game where
he was in a bit of foul trouble. The
Philly native might have been the only bright spot in a shocking loss to Temple,
posting a line of 18 points and five rebounds. The best big man in the league
continues to be amongst the AAC leaders in rebounds, points, blocks, and steals
for SMU.
On
the Verge: Joe Jackson (Memphis), Luke Hancock (Louisville), Nic Moore (SMU),
TaShawn Thomas (Houston), Isaiah Sykes (UCF).
Freshman of the Year:
Terry
Rozier (Louisville) – 8.5 ppg, 3.1 rbg
Rozier steals away the freshman of the year honors from Austin Nichols (Memphis) with his solid
play against Rutgers and Temple. Although not starting, Rozier arguably had his
best game of season with 16 points (career high), four assists, two rebounds
and three steals against Rutgers. The
freshman drained four three pointers in the first half to help set the tone in
the Rutgers route. Although the freshman crop in the AAC is much weaker
compared to other conferences, Rozier should be considered one of the top 10-15
freshmen in country.
SEC:
In
a match-up of the top SEC teams, Florida rallied and pulled away late for a big
time road win over UK. UF stays undefeated in SEC hoops and is firmly in first
place in the SEC at 12-0. Surprisingly, Georgia is just a game back of UK with
an 8-4 SEC record with Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU all close behind.
Jabari
Brown (Missouri) – 22.8 ppg, 4.0 rbg, 2.4 apg
Brown’s clutch plays this week finally gets him over the hump as conference
player of the year, unseating Julius Randle (Kentucky). Mr. Consistent made the go ahead layup with
12.2 seconds left in regulation to defeat Arkansas and made the game sealing steal
with 7.7 seconds left against Tennessee.
The leading scorer in the SEC, averaged 24.5 points and 4.5 rebounds
this past week.
All Conference Team:
Julius
Randle (Kentucky) – 13.0 ppg, 9.3 rbg
The best freshman in the SEC had a solid
game in a win against Auburn with 12 points and 12 rebounds. In a ten point loss to SEC leader Florida,
Randle posted numbers of 13 points and 13 rebounds but didn’t register a made
field goal in the second half of the game.
Casey Prather of Florida did his best to keep Randle in check
most of the game.
Scotty
Wilbekin (Florida) – 14.6 ppg, 3.5 apg
Wilbekin is beginning to solidify his status as best PG in the
SEC. In a big win over Tennessee,
Scottie had 21 points, three rebounds, six assists and four steals and
outshined UT point guard Jordan McRae. In
the matchup against UK’s Andrew Harrison, Wilbekin notched 23 points and two
assists while going 11-12 from the free throw line. The senior guard made
timely plays for the Gators, including five crucial free throws down the
stretch against UK.
Jarnell
Stokes (Tennessee) – 14.5 ppg, 11.3 rbg
Stokes once again had a
strong week in losing efforts against Florida and Missouri. The SEC’s leading
rebounder had 20 points, 11 boards, and two assists as he held his own against
the vaunted UF frontline. Against
Mizzou, he had 13 points, right rebounds and three assists. It’s hard to
overlook Stokes because he is the SEC’s leading rebounder (by a wide margin)
and the only player averaging a double-double.
Johnny
O’Bryant (LSU) – 16.7 ppg, 7.8 rbg
Despite LSU
dropping two games this week to lowly Texas A&M and Arkansas, O’Bryant
still posted strong numbers for LSU. In
the Texas A&M loss, O’Bryant had 15 points and six rebounds. Against Arkansas, he had 20 points and 16
rebounds but fouled out with 1:55 left in the game. O’Bryant had a tough matchup against Arkansas
starting center, Bobby Portis.
On
the Verge: Michael Frazier III (Florida), Casey Prather (Florida), Marshall
Henderson (Ole Miss), Andrew Harrison (UK), Jarvis Summers (Ole Miss)
Freshman of the Year:
Julius Randle – See above
No comments:
Post a Comment