The Associated Press announced its national players of the week in men’s and women’s basketball for Week 9 of the season. On the women’s basketball side:
The sophomore guard opened SEC play with consecutive 30-point games. She scored 15 of her 32 points in the fourth quarter of the Commodores’ 65-61 win over then-No. 5 LSU. She had 10 of the team’s final 13 points in the win and hit five of her nine field goal attempts in the quarter. Blakes opened the week by matching her season-high in scoring with 35 points at Arkansas in the conference opener. She also matched her career-best with eight assists.
Runner-up
Taliah Scott, Baylor. The redshirt sophomore guard hit the game-winning shot in the Bears’ victory over then-No. 10 Iowa State to give Baylor its first top-10 road victory in two years. She scored all 21 of her points in the second half of that victory. Scott also had 24 points in a win over Oklahoma State, where the Bears rallied from a 19-point third quarter deficit.
Honorable mention
Tyonna Bailey, Charleston Southern; Lauren Betts, No. 4 UCLA; Talayah Walker, Georgia Tech.
Keep an eye on
Murray State forward Sharnecce Currie-Jelks had consecutive games with more than 20 points and 20 rebounds as the Racers beat Illinois State and Bradley each in double overtime. She’s just the third Division I player in the last 22 years to accomplish that feat. She has 11 double-doubles on the season, tied for second in the nation.
And the men’s:
Kevin “Boopie” Miller, No. 24 SMU
The 6-foot senior from Chicago had 27 points, 12 assists and four rebounds to help SMU beat then-No. 12 North Carolina last week, securing the program’s first win against a ranked team under second-year coach Andy Enfield. Miller was 10 of 13 from the field, hit a trio of 3-pointers and finished with just two turnovers in 33 minutes in the emphatic 97-83 win over the Tar Heels.
Miller played two seasons at Central Michigan and a season at ACC-rival Wake Forest before joining the Mustangs. He averaged 13.2 points last season but has shot up to 20.3 this season, and his 7.2 assists per game is tops in Division I men’s basketball.
The Mustangs, who are 12-2 and play Clemson on Tuesday night, entered the AP Top 25 this week for the first time since finishing No. 11 in the final poll of the 2016-17 season. Their only losses this season came against undefeated Vanderbilt and LSU.
Runner-up
Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green. The 6-2 senior matched a season-best in Division I basketball with 47 points in a 101-100 overtime win over UMass. He was 13 of 21 from the floor and 20 of 27 from the foul line to go with six rebounds and eight assists while playing all 45 minutes. Campbell was 3 for 3 from the foul line in the final 5 seconds of regulation to force OT. The point total was the most by a Bowling Green player since 1964 and the most in any road game in program history.
Honorable mention
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s; Ben Hammond, Virginia Tech; Tyler Tanner, No. 11 Vanderbilt.
Keep an eye on
Rienk Mast, No. 10 Nebraska. The senior forward had 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks in a 58-56 win against then-No. 9 Michigan State last week, and he hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:51 left to help Nebraska remain unbeaten. Mast also had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes during a blowout win against New Hampshire earlier in the week, and he had 12 points and four boards on Monday night in a win over Ohio State that pushed the Huskers’ nation-best win streak to 19.
