Buffalo's Massinburg Headlines Men's Basketball Player of the Week
MAC East Division Player of the Week
CJ Massinburg, Buffalo
Guard, Senior, Dallas, TX/ South Oak Cliff
Senior CJ Massinburg started his final season off with a bang as he averaged 27.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in UB's two victories this weekend, including a huge upset at #13 West Virginia. In the win over the Mountaineers, Massinburg exploded for 43 points, the second most in school history and the most ever by a Buffalo player in a road game. Massinburg drilled nine three-pointers in the game, the third most for a UB player in school history. Massinburg became the first player to score 40 or more points against West Virginia since Kansas standout Andrew Wiggins in 2014. In addition, he added 14 rebounds as he became just the eighth player in college basket since 2010 to have over 40 points and at least 14 rebounds in a game. With his 54 points through the first two games, Massinburg also moved up to seventh place on UB's all-time scoring list.
MAC West Division Player of the Week
Seth Dugan, Western Michigan
Center, Senior,Otsego, Mich.
Dugan guided the Broncos to a split in the first two games of the regular season defeating Detroit Mercy before falling to Ole Miss. Dugan had a phenomenal start to the season capturing a career-high 32 points and 22 rebounds in the victory over Detroit. Dugan became just the second player in WMU history to have a 30-point, 20 rebound game and the first to have at least 20 rebounds since 1994. Against SEC talent in Ole Miss, Dugan neared another double-double with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Currently Dugan is shooting a staggering 57 percent from the floor and leads the MAC and ranks 2nd in the NCAA in total rebounds (29) and rebounds per game (14.5)
Other Nominees
Daniel Utomi, Akron
Wing, Junior, Houston, TX
Utomi led the Zips scoring against Youngstown State as the Zips pulled away in the second half for a 98-69 win. His balanced attack consisted of 13 first-half points and a dozen in the second frame. Utomi connected on 9-of-13 shots from the floor for an 69.2 shooting percentage. He hit a pair of 3-pointers during the game (2-of-4; .500) while pulling down five rebounds and dishing out two assists with a blocked shot. Against Cedarville, Utomi scored eight points.
Tahjai Teague, Ball State
Forward, Junior, Indianpolis, Ind. (Pike HS)
Tahjai Teague led Ball State to a season-opening win over Indiana State with 21 points and seven rebounds. But it was his defense that really changed the game. Ball State head coach James Whitford called it "one of the best individual defensive performances I have seen in a long time" for Teague's working switching onto ISU guards Jordan Barnes and Tyreke Key and helping to frustrate them into a combined 12-for-37 shooting. On the offensive end, Teague finish the game 10-for-14 with three dunks. Later in the week, Teague had eight points and four rebounds at No. 24/22 Purdue in a game that was tied early in the second half.
Kevin McKay, Central Michigan
Guard, Junior, Warren, Mich. (Warren De La Salle)
Junior guard Kevin McKay picked up in the first week of this season where he left off last season when he finished 2017-18 as one of the hottest players in the Mid-American Conference. In a 98-67 win over Concordia on Tuesday, McKay scored a game-high 27 points, on 10-of-13 shooting (.769), to go along with five rebounds, three steals and three assists. He was especially effective in the second half when he posted 18 points, going 6-of-6 from both the field and free throw line. On Friday, in a 101-60 rout of Chicago State, McKay scored 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, including five on the offensive end. He also collected three assists and two steals. For the week, McKay shot .765 (13-of-17) and averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals.
Boubacar Toure, Eastern Michigan
Center, Redshirt Junior, Senegal, Dakar
Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure became the first Eagle to begin his career with the Green and White with back-to-back double-doubles, putting up 15 points and 15 rebounds against Rochester and following that with a 14-point, 11-rebound game against Drexel. To cap off the week, the Dakar, Senegal native scored 10 points and grabbed seven boards in just 16 minutes of play against Goshen.
Jalen Avery, Kent State
Gaurd, Senior, Shroder HS
Senior Jalen Avery led the Flashes scoring against Cleveland State as he hit two crucial free throws in the end of the game that secured Kent State’s win, 83-79. In the first half, Avery scored a dozen points followed by 11 in the second. Avery connected on 6-of-17 shots from the floor for a 35.2 percent. He hit four 3-pointers during the game (4-of-11) while pulling down three rebounds and dishing out four assists.
Nike Sibande, Miami
Guard, Sophomore, Indianapolis, Ind. (Crispus Attucks)
Picking up where he left off last season, sophomore guard Nike Sibande led Miami with 24 points in Saturday’s loss at Butler. He was 9-for-20 from the field and 4-for-12 from behind the arc. It was the second highest scoring effort of his career (behind his career high of 29 at Campbell in last year’s CBI) and his 11th career 20+ scoring game.
Levi Bradley, Northern Illinois
Wing, Senior, Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI
Levi Bradley averaged a double-double as the Huskies split a pair of games against Rockford and Northern Kentucky in the opening week of the 2018-19 season. Bradley scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes of action in the season-opening victory over Rockford. The Milwaukee, Wis., native then became the 31st player in NIU history to reach 1,000 career points as he scored 25, and grabbed 12 rebounds, going 9-of-18 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line in a double overtime setback against Northern Kentucky. Bradley was also playing in his 100th consecutive game against the Norse, never missing a game in his NIU career.
Jason Carter, Ohio
Forward, RS Sophomore, Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe
In his first game back on the court after missing all but three games in 2017-18, Jason Carter led the Bobcats in their season opening victory over Wilberforce. In the 97-61 victory, Carter scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his first double double of the season. He also dished out four assists and had one block. Carter went 5-of-9 (.556) from the field and 7-of-9 (.778) from the free throw line.
Willie Jackson, Toledo
Forward, Junior, Cleveland, Ohio (Garfield Heights)
Junior forward Willie Jackson averaged a double-double with 16.0 ppg and a team-high 11.0 rpg to go along with an impressive 76.5 FG% (13-of-17) and 83.3 FT% (5-of-6) in a pair of Rockets’ victories to open the 2018-19 campaign. Jackson shot 7-of-9 from the field (1-of-1 from three-point range) on the way to tallying 15 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and three assists in UT’s season-opening 87-86 win over Oakland on Friday. Ten of Jackson’s points vs. the Golden Grizzlies came in the second half, including four in the final three minutes to help UT secure the victory. Jackson then led Toledo with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the Rockets’ 99-58 triumph over Wilberforce. He was equally efficient shooting the basketball against the Bulldogs, finishing 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.
