The Associated Press announced its national players of the week in men’s and women’s basketball for Week 5 of the season. On the men’s basketball side:
The freshman from Salt Lake City had 29 points and six rebounds in leading the third-ranked Blue Devils to a 67-66 win over No. 18 Florida, then Boozer poured in 18 points with 15 rebounds and five assists in a 66-60 win at No. 9 Michigan State.
The son of former Duke star Carlos Boozer, Cameron Boozer was the runner-up for national player of the week to Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg last week, and he was honorable mention in Week 2 of the college basketball season. Boozer is the first Duke player to be chosen AP player of the week since Cooper Flagg was chosen for the second time last January.
The Blue Devils enter the week as one of eight remaining unbeaten teams in Division I men’s basketball.
Runner-up
Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State. The junior forward from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, was 8 of 9 from the 3-point arc and had 27 points in a rout of Alcorn State. But that proved to be merely a warm-up for Momcilovic, who poured in 20 points while helping the fourth-ranked Cyclones to an historic 81-58 rout of then-No. 1 Purdue just four days later.
The margin of victory tied the record for the largest home loss by a nation’s top-ranked team in the AP poll era, which dates to the 1948-49 season, and it was the eighth-largest loss overall by a No. 1. Iowa State also set a record for its highest-ranked road win and produced the second-largest margin of victory over a Top 25 team in school history.
Honorable mention
Solo Ball, No. 5 UConn; Hannes Steinbach, Washington; Christian Anderson, Texas Tech.
Keep an eye on
Amani Hansberry, Virginia Tech. The transfer from West Virginia had 22 points and 14 rebounds in an overtime win at South Carolina, then piled up 15 points with seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in a win over George Mason.
And on the women’s side:
The senior post opened Big Ten play with a double-double, setting season highs in points (24), rebounds (14) and blocks (5) in a win over previously unbeaten Oregon. She had 13 points and 11 rebounds by the half as the Bruins rolled.
Runner-up
Brynn McCurry, Villanova. The junior forward helped the Wildcats go 3-0 last week. She averaged 20.7 points, seven rebounds, and two assists per game. She shot 62% from the field and helped Villanova upset then-No. 25 West Virginia. McCurry had 21 points and a career-best nine rebounds in that win.
Honorable mention
Aaliyah Chavez, No. 9 Oklahoma; Hannah Hidalgo, No. 19 Notre Dame; Olivia Miles, No. 8 TCU.
Keep an eye on
North Texas forward Megan Nestor became the third player in the past 44 years to record a 30-30 game when she had 34 points and 31 rebounds in a win over Texas Southern. She was 17 for 22 from the field in the game and set the school and American Conference record for rebounds in a game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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