Player of the Week
Kareem Canty – Auburn
For the second straight week, a players’ heroics against Kentucky earn him Player of the Week honors. This week that honor goes to Kareem Canty from Auburn. He and fellow teammate Tyler Harris were on fire during the second half of their matchup against the Wildcats. Canty scored a game high 26 points including a couple of huge threes down the stretch that put Auburn up for good. He also hit a couple of free throws on one ankle in the final seconds to seal the deal. Kanty is known as a volume scorer who needs plenty of shots to get his points, but in the second half against Kentucky, the junior transfer from Marshall was as efficient as I’ve seen him all season. He had that look in his eye that no one was going to stop him. Kentucky doesn’t necessarily scare you with their perimeter defense outside of Ulis and Kanty took full advantage on his way to leading Auburn to the school’s best win in the last decade.
Who’s Hot
Tyler Ulis – Kentucky
The Wildcats have struggled recently but none of that has to do with the play of Ulis. In fact, he has been their best all around player this season and that is not a shot at Jamaal Murray, who has had his moments. Ulis isn’t the most effective scorer on this UK roster and his lack of size definitely hurts him when he gets into the lane, but his ability to lead and control the game is what makes him UK’s MVP. He still has work to do on his jump shot to keep defense’s honest but he’s got great handles and is a spark plug for this Kentucky team. He had a near triple double on Saturday against Auburn and without his contributions late in the game, the final score would have been much worse. He’s second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game, leads the team in assists at 6.1 and is averaging more rebounds (3.7) than prized freshman Skal Labissiere. A lot of that has to do with Labissiere’s foul trouble, but it is still an amazing stat nonetheless and one that no one would have imagined back in November.
Who’s Not
Tim Quarterman – LSU
Maybe everyone was too quick to quick to jump on the Quarterman bandwagon. As last week’s Player of the Week due to his near triple double in LSU’s win against Kentucky, Quarterman has since put up modest numbers and has even been relegated to the bench in favor of teammate Josh Gray. He didn’t look particularly bad in last week’s game against Ole Miss but played only 10 minutes in the team’s win against Arkansas, registering no points, no rebounds and only two assists in, by far, his worst outing of the season. I feel like there has to be something going on behind the scenes as it isn’t as if Gray has been tearing it up lately. Quarterman was expected to build off of the momentum from the Kentucky game and become that consistent perimeter scoring threat that the Tigers need to complement Ben Simmons. For whatever reason, Johnny Jones has decided that his team works best with Gray in the starting lineup and Quarterman coming off the bench. And while I don’t necessarily agree with that, his team is 2-0 since he made the move so there isn’t much to complain about.
Top 5 Transfers
1. Tyler Harris – Auburn
This is Harris’ third school in his college career and he has found a home with Coach Pearl. After his 21 point and 11 rebound game against Kentucky, the senior transfer from Providence by way of NC State is now second in 20-10 games at Auburn since the 98-99 season.
2. Danuel House – Texas A&M
The Aggies have been one of the biggest surprises of the season and the senior transfer from Houston is a big reason why. House is second on the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game and is an integral part of this A&M team that is currently unbeaten in conference play.
3. Stefan Moody – Ole Miss
Moody is leading the world in scoring lately but isn’t getting the attention he deserves because he plays for an average Ole Miss team. The Florida Atlantic transfer is averaging a career high in points (24.3) and assists (3.9) for the Rebels.
4. Keith Hornsby – LSU
In his second season with LSU, Hornsby is averaging 14.2 points on 48% shooting overall and 42% from behind the arc, both career highs for the second place Tigers. The senior transfer from UNC Asheville is the son of recording artist Bruce Hornsby.
5. Craig Victor – LSU
The sophomore from New Orleans is averaging 13.6 points per game in his first season after transferring from Arizona. As a freshman in Tuscon, Victor averaged 3.1 points in just 8 games and was unable to crack Sean Miller’s rotation.
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