The Associated Press national player of the week in men’s college basketball for Week 17 of the season:
Brayden Burries, No. 2 Arizona
The 6-foot-4 freshman guard is the first player to earn AP national player of the week honors twice this season after a stellar two-game stretch. Burries led the Wildcats to at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title by averaging 22.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He scored 24 points with four assists in an 87-80 win at Baylor. He followed up with 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and no turnovers in an 84-61 win over No. 14 Kansas. Burries was named player of the week in Week 13 and gives Arizona three player of the week honors after fellow freshman Koa Peat earned it the opening week of the season.
Runner-up
Mikey Lewis, No. 21 Saint Mary’s. The 6-3 sophomore had 31 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal in Saturday’s 70-59 win over No. 12 Gonzaga to give the Gaels a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season crown. He made 10 of 21 shots from the floor and 7 of 13 from 3 in the game. Lewis also had 21 points and seven assists in Wednesday’s win against Santa Clara to help the Gaels close the week on an eight-game win streak.
Honorable mention
Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Alabama; Nick Martinelli, Northwestern; Seth Trimble, North Carolina.
Keep an eye on
Ty Harper, Oral Roberts. The 6-3 guard scored 47 points in a win over Denver on Thursday. Harper made 12 of 24 shots from the floor, and hit all 21 of his free throws to break the Summit League record. He followed with 27 points in a win at Kansas City on Thursday. The senior leads ORU with 17.9 points per game heading into this week’s Summit League tournament.
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