Team of the Week
Washington – Both California and Washington deserve consideration for this spot after taking care of business at home this week and remaining tied atop the conference standings, but the nod goes to the Huskies if only because their win over Arizona may have been slightly more impressive than the Golden Bears’ win over Oregon. In that game against the Wildcats, the Huskies looked for all the world like a team that could make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. With spectacular plays from either Terrence Ross or Tony Wroten seemingly around every turn, Lorenzo Romar’s team for the first time showed and ability to not only make the spectacular play from time to time, but to not force the action too much, registering just five turnovers on 66 possessions (a TO% of just 7.6%). The Huskies never trailed in the second half and have now set up a very manageable run to the regular season conference title, although they will have to do some damage on the road against Washington State, USC, and UCLA over the next two weeks.
Player of the Week
Terrence Ross, Soph, Washington – Great performances have been the rule rather than the exception for Ross in his second season in Seattle. He has failed to score in double figures just twice in 27 games and has shown a propensity to take over games down the stretch. Against Arizona on Saturday he displayed that ability again. Despite a three-point shot that wasn’t falling, Ross hit ten of his 11 shots from inside the arc on his way to a game-high 25 points. He also turned it on defensively, grabbing five steals, swatting a shot, and playing lock-down perimeter defense. For the week, Ross averaged 21.5 points, five rebounds, and three steals per game while shooting a 64.1% eFG on the week. And in the process, he may have increased his odds of earning Pac-12 Player of the Year consideration.
Newcomer of the Week
Travis Wear, Soph, UCLA – It has been a bumpy ride for the Wear twins in their first two seasons of college ball, playing a limited role on a severely underachieving North Carolina team two years ago before transferring back home and playing a much larger role on another underachieving blueblood of the sport this season at UCLA. However, despite the Bruins’ struggles this season, the Wears have been solid young performers for Ben Howland. And this week, Travis put together perhaps his best back-to-back performances of the year, averaging 12.5 points and 12 rebounds per game this week. And since the Wears are often regarded as one entity (I still haven’t been able to tell the difference between the two on a regular basis), his brother David deserves a mention for his own solid play this week with 14.5 points and nine rebounds per game.