Walker and Austin Jr. Tabbed as Men's Basketball Players of the Week
MAC East Division Player of the Week
Jaylin Walker, Kent State
Guard, Senior, Inkster, Mich.
Senior guard Jaylin Walker led Kent State to its sixth straight victory in an 83-76 win over Wright State. Walker finished with a game-high 23 points, the third time this season he has scored 20+ points. He went 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from the field,3-of-6 (50 percent) from 3-point range, and went 10-of-11 (90.9 percent) from the charity stripe. In addition to Walker’s scoring efforts, he brought down a team-high seven rebounds and had two takeaways.
MAC West Division Player of the Week
Larry Austin Jr., Central Michigan
Guard, Senior, Springfield, Ill. (Vanderbilt)
Senior guard Larry Austin Jr. added another chapter to the story of his standout season for Central Michigan, averaging 22.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.0 steals per game, in leading the Chippewas to a 2-0 record last week. In CMU's 100-94 triple overtime road win over Youngstown State on Tuesday, Austin recorded his first career double-double, totaling a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists, four steals and one block. On Saturday, in the Chippewas' 95-86 victory over Southern Utah, Austin scored 20 points and dished out six assists with just two turnovers in 35 minutes of court time. He also added four steals and four rebounds. Austin ranks tied for first in the MAC in steals (2.5), second in scoring (19.6 ppg) and fourth in assists (4.6 apg).
Other Nominees
Tahjai Teague, Ball State
Forward, Junior, Indianapolis, Ind. (Pike)
Tahjai Teague averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds last week in Ball State’s split of two games against the Missouri Valley Conference, including a win at 2018 national semifinalist Loyola Chicago. It was another highly efficient week for Teague, who scored 31 points on just 15 shots from the floor, improving his league-best field goal rate to 64.3 percent for the season. Teague scored 14 points and pulled down a team-best nine rebounds in Wednesday’s 75-69 win at preseason MVC favorite Loyola. His 3-point play in the final minutes swung the game in the Cardinals’ favor. Ball State head coach James Whitford also praised Teague being the defensive catalyst in one of BSU’s best performances of the year on that end of the floor in holding Loyola to 40 percent shooting. Teague then led the Cardinals with 17 points and eight rebounds Sunday at Evansville. For the season, he is averaging 13.7 points and a team-best 6.7 boards per game while leading the Cardinals with 12 steals.
Demajeo Wiggins, Bowling Green
Forward, Senior, Toledo, Ohio (Springfield)
Demajeo Wiggins posted his eighth and ninth double-doubles of the season to lead Bowling Green to a 1-1 week. Wiggins shot 50.0 percent (11-of-22) from the floor, while averaging 16.5 points, 17.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. After a 21-point, 16-rebound effort to open the week at Cleveland State (Dec. 5), Wiggins posted 12 points and a season-high 19 rebounds in a 97-68 victory over Green Bay on Dec. 8. The senior forward, who leads the country with nine double-doubles, is averaging 15.0 points and a nation-best 12.9 rebounds.
CJ Massinburg, Buffalo
Guard, Senior, Dallas, TX (South Oak Cliff)
Senior CJ Massinburg filled out the stat sheet for the Bulls this past weekend as UB ran its win streak to nine to start the season. Massinburg averaged 13.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 3.5 steals in the wins over Le Moyne and St. Bonaventure. Against Le Moyne, Massinburg recorded just the second triple-double in school history with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists, and the first for a UB player at Alumni Arena. He followed that up on the road Saturday afternoon at Big 4 rival St. Bonaventure and he just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Massinburg was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line in that game. He also collected seven steals on the defensive end during the week.
Ty Groce, Eastern Michigan
Forward, Redshirt sophomore, Ypsilanti, Mich. (Lincoln)
Ty Groce stuffed the stat sheet in just 19 minutes of game action against Central State, pouring in a season-high 14 points while pulling down a career-high nine rebounds. The redshirt sophomore shot an efficient 6-of-9 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from downtown, as Eastern rolled to a 105-53 victory... It was the largest margin of victory (52) since the Eagles beat Siena Heights by 62 points in 2016.
Nike Sibande, Miami
Guard, Sophomore, Indianapolis, Ind. (Crispus Attucks)
Sibande was Miami's leading scorer at 16.0 points per game in the Red and White's two victories last week. In a grind out game against Wright State, he did a little bit of everything, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds and a career-high five assists. Needing to score against Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday, Sibande contributed 24 points, including 16 in the second in the 85-79 win. He is now Miami's leading scorer at 16.7 points per game this season.
Jason Carter, Ohio
Forward, RS Sophomore, Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe
Redshirt sophomore guard Jason Carter led the Bobcats once again this past week, helping Ohio go 1-1 and improve to 6-3 overall. Carter averaged 18/0 points per game, going 13-of-29 (.520) from the field, 1-of-2 (.500) from three-point range and 9-of-11 (.818) from the free throw line. Carter also averaged 5.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. On Dec. 5 at Xavier, Carter scored 17 points to lead Ohio, going 6-of-12 from the field, 1-of-1 from three and 4-of-6 from the free throw line, while also grabbing four rebounds in 35 minutes on the court. Then on Dec. 8 against Redford, Carter led the Bobcats once again, scoring a game-high 19 points, faint 7-of-13 from the field, 5-of-5 from the free throw line, while grabbing six boards and dishing out one assists in the 78-69 victory.
Willie Jackson, Toledo
Forward, Junior, Cleveland, Ohio (Garfield Heights)
Junior Willie Jackson averaged a double-double to help Toledo to a pair of victories last week. He scored 12.0 points per game and grabbed 12.0 rebounds per game to go along with a perfect 6-of-6 performance at the free-throw line in UT’s 101-57 win over Detroit Mercy and 75-74 (OT) triumph at Marshall. Jackson scored 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the Rockets' 44-point victory over the Titans. He then tallied 12 points, nine rebounds and tied his career high with four steals against the Thundering Herd.
Michael Flowers, Western Michigan
Guard, Sophomore, Southfield, Mich. (Southfield A&T)
Michael Flowers helped guide the Broncos to an 88-77 victory over Youngstown State to snap a two-game losing skid for the Broncos. Flowers led the team with a career-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor. The sophomore guard also recorded four rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes played. Flowers scored 15 of his game-high 25 in the first half as he went 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from three in the first 20 minutes of play. It’s the second time this season Flowers has scored over 20 points and third time in which he has led the Broncos in scoring.
