This week’s honorees are Daniel Utomi (Akron), Elijah Minnie (Eastern Michigan) and Thomas Wilder (Western Michigan).
For details on these and other nominees, click Read More . . .
Daniel Utomi, Akron
Guard, Sophomore, Houston, Texas
Dan Utomi averaged 26.5 points per game to lead Akron to 1-1 week. Utomi scored 29 points in a 81-79 win on the road against Bowling Green, and 24 points in a tough 64-62 overtime loss to Miami at Rhodes Arena. He shot 61.5 percent against BGSU on 8-of-13 shooting that included a 4-of-7, 57.1-percent effort from downtown. He went 9-of-10 from the free throw line dished out five assists, grabbed three rebounds, and secured three steals. Against Miami, he shot 9-of-18 from the floor and 3-of-9 from deep with a 3-of-4 effort from the charity stripe. He added four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. For the week, he shot 54.8 percent from the field (17-of-31), 43.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (7-of-16, and 85.7 from the free throw line (12-of-14).
Co-MAC West Division Player of the Week
Elijah Minnie, Eastern Michigan
Forward, Redshirt Junior, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Lincoln Park)
Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie helped lead Eastern Michigan to its second consecutive two-win week, scoring 23 points and grabbing six rebounds in the Eagles' six-point victory over MAC-West leading Toledo, Feb. 20, and also pouring in 26 points and grabbing seven boards in Eastern's easy victory over Northern Illinois. He also helped the league's best defense with three steals and three blocks in the two contests, while also holding NIU to just 53 points, the 10th time this season the Green and White have held an opponent under 60 points. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native is not only EMU's leading scorer, averaging 16.4 points per game, but he also leads the team in 20+ point games (13), and double-digit scoring (22) this season. Minnie is ranked in the Mid-American Conference for scoring (16.4 - 8th), rebounding (5.8 - 18th), free throw percentage (83.5 - 3rd), blocked shots (1.8 - 2nd), steals (1.9 - 4th), and made three-pointers per game (2.0 - 13th).
Thomas Wilder, Western Michigan
Guard, Senior, Montgomery, Ill. (Quakerdale Prep)
Wilder led the Broncos in scoring in each game over the week en route to the Broncos going 2-0 with wins over Central Michigan and Ball State. Against Central Michigan, Wilder nearly captured a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. Wilder was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line and shot 46.2 percent for the game against the Chippewas. In the overtime period against CMU, Wilder scored 11 of the team's 14 points to capture a thrilling 83-81 OT win. On Friday against Ball State, Wilder captured 18 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line. Wilder dominated the Cardinals in the second half, scoring 12 of his 18 points the final 20 minutes of play. During the week, Wilder shot 86.4 percent from the free-throw line, including a staggering 22 straight from the charity stripe. With the 40 points during the week, Wilder is now just 12 points away from becoming the second player in school history to amass 2,000 career points.
Trey Moses, Ball State
Center, Junior, Louisville, Ky. (Eastern)
Trey Moses averaged 19.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game last week to lead Ball State. The junior center, who ranks second in the league in field goal percentage and third in rebounding, was 15 for 21 from the floor for the week. Moses scored a career-high 23 points to go with 12 rebounds and three blocks in Tuesday’s victory over Northern Illinois. It was the fourth time in eight games he reached the 20-point mark. He then went for 15 points, 14 boards and three assists Friday against Western Michigan. It was his third double-double in the past four games and his eighth in conference play. Moses leads Ball State with averages of 15.1 points and 9.4 rebounds in league action.
Nick Perkins, Buffalo
Forward, Junior, Ypsilanti, MI (Milan)
Junior Nick Perkins led the Bulls in scoring this past week as he averaged 19.5 points off the bench for UB. He had 18 points and six rebounds on Tuesday night at Miami and came back on Saturday afternoon and led the Bulls in scoring with 21 points in just 23 minutes of action. Perkins was 7-of-10 from the floor, including 7-of-8 from inside the arc. He also went 7-of-10 from the free throw line, finishing as one of six players in double figures in scoring. Perkins leads the Bulls in scoring during MAC play as he come off the bench in all 16 conference games this season.
Kevin Zabo, Kent State
Guard, Senior, Gatineau, Quebec
Kevin Zabo helped KSU split two games against MAC East rivals Ohio and Bowling Green. He recorded a 12-point, six rebound game at OU and had four assists to one turnover. In Saturday night's one-point win over BG, Zabo finished with 15 points to lead KSU in scoring against the Falcons. He did it in 23 minutes of game time due to foul trouble.
Logan McLane , Miami
Forward, Senior, Winterville, N.C. (Greenfield School)
McLane was one of the main contributors in the RedHawks 2-0 week. He provided a low post presence off the bench and averaged 14.0 points per game. He missed only three shots the entire weekend, finishing 11-for-14. After scoring five points and bringing in three rebounds in the win over first place Buffalo, McLane led the RedHawks with 23 points in a dramatic come-from-behind overtime win against Akron. The 23 points were the most scored by any individual for Miami this season. McLane was 9-for-11 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Teyvion Kirk, Ohio University
Guard, Freshman, Joliet, Ill. (Joliet West)
Freshman guard Teyvion Kirk (Joliet, Ill.) helped the Ohio men's basketball team (12-16, 5-11 MAC) split a pair of games against Mid-American Conference East Division rivals last week, averaging a team-high 19.0 points and 3.5 assists per game. He also averaged 4.0 rebounds per game to tie for third on the team in addition to averaging 0.5 steals per game. He shot 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from the floor and 80 percent (16-of-20) from the free throw line. Kirk scored 17 points off of 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line as Ohio knocked off Kent State, 88-76, last Tuesday (Feb. 20) at the Convocation Center in Athens. He also tied for the team lead with four assists in addition to hauling in five boards in 32 minutes of action. Kirk then led the way for Ohio with 21 points in a 108-82 loss to Buffalo on Saturday (Feb. 24) at Alumni Arena in Amherst, N.Y., marking his sixth outing of the year with at least 20 points. He also tied for the team lead with three assists in addition to adding four rebounds and a steal in 32 minutes.
Tre'Shaun Fletcher, Toledo
Guard, Senior Wilmar, Ark. (Univ. of Colorado)
Senior guard Tre'Shaun Fletcher led Toledo with 24.5 points and 5.5 assists per game to go along with 3.5 assists per game and a 58.6 field-goal percentage (17-of-29) in a pair of games last week. Fletcher's top performance was an impressive 28-point, nine-assist effort in the Rockets' 89-76 home win over Central Michigan last Friday. Fletcher also tallied 21 points in UT's 85-79 setback at Eastern Michigan.