Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson (player) and Arizona State’s Moe Odum (newcomer) earned Big 12 men’s basketball weekly awards for their performances over the past week to headline the Big 12 Starting Five.
Jefferson averaged 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists to lead the Cyclones to a 3-0 record in his hometown of Las Vegas during the Players Era Championship. The senior opened with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists in an 83-82 win over No. 14 St. John’s (N.Y.) including the free throws in the final 10 seconds that extended the ISU lead to three. The forward followed up with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double against Creighton in a 78-60 victory, before becoming only the second major conference player since 1996-97 to post a stat line of 13 points, six rebounds and 10 assists in a 95-64 win over Syracuse. It is his fifth Big 12 weekly honor, but his first time being selected as Player of the Week after four Newcomer of the Week picks a year ago.
Odum led the Sun Devils to the championship game of the Maui Invitational, earning all-tournament honors in Hawaii, scoring an average of 26.3 points in the event. In the 87-86 quarterfinal win against Texas, the senior transfer from Pepperdine scored 36 points, including a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds that stood as the game winner. The native of The Bronx, New York followed with 26 points and five assists against Washington State, winning 100-94 in the semifinals. In the championship game against Southern California, he scored 17 points with four assists. He is the third Sun Devil to receive a weekly award from the Big 12 in a season-plus since joining the Conference it is the first Big 12 weekly honor of his career.
Baylor’s Cameron Carr, Kansas’ Flory Bidunga and TCU’s Brock Harding rounded out the Big 12 starting five. Carr posted 21.7 points over three games at the Players Era Championship, as the Bears beat Creighton and San Diego State to go 2-1. Bidunga averaged 14.7 points as the Jayhawks went 3-0 at the Players Era Championship. Harding was named MVP of the Rady Children’s Invitational after scoring an average of 17.5 points in wins over Florida and Wisconsin.
Big 12 Player of the Week
Nov. 10 – Koa Peat, Arizona & Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
Nov. 17 – Kingston Flemings, Houston
Nov. 24 – P.J. Haggerty, K-State
Dec. 1 – Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Big 12 Newcomer of the Week
Nov. 10 – Koa Peat, Arizona
Nov. 17 – Kingston Flemings, Houston
Nov. 24 – Koa Peat, Arizona
Dec. 1 – Moe Odum, Arizona State
Big 12 Starting Five
Moe Odum, Arizona State (newcomer)
Cameron Carr, Baylor
Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State (player)
Flory Bidunga, Kansas
Brock Harding, TCU