Player of the Night (non-Jack Taylor edition) – Jeff Withey
Withey became just the fourth player in Big 12 history with 25 points and seven blocks in a game, as Kansas topped St. Louis 73-59. It’s been 10 years Colorado’s David Harrison became the last Big 12 player to pull it off. In his case, it was a triple-double. Before Harrison, both Chris Mihm and Kelvin Cato posted at least 25 points and seven blocks.
Freshman of the Night – Kellen Dunham
Dunham scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half as Butler held off a late rally to upset UNC 82-71 in Maui. In the span of less than five minutes, he connected on four 3-pointers to keep the Tar Heels at arm’s length. Dunham showed why his ESPN 100 recruiting profile called his shooting “akin to a master craftsman applying his trade.”
Strange Stat Line of the Night – Brian Barbour
Columbia stunned Villanova 75-57, to give the Lions their first win over a Big East opponent in 27 years. It came courtesy of a bizarre game from leading senior Brian Barbour. He sunk all 12 of his free throws, but went just 1-for-12 from the field. That included missing all eight of his 3s. The last player with an even more striking disparity between free throws and field goals was Vermont’s Tony Orciari in 2000. He went 0-for-10 from the field and 14-for-14 from the line in a game against Maine.
Stat Sheet Stuffer – Anthony Hickey
Hickey had something of a breakout game in LSU’s 102-95 win over Northwestern State. The sophomore guard finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. He’s the first SEC player to reach all of those numbers since Florida’s Corey Brewer in 2006. The last LSU player with a 20-5-5-5 game was Torris Bright in 2000.
