Nick Emery set the BYU single-game freshman scoring record and his blistering shooting display sparked two conference wins. The Alpine, Utah native has been named NetScouts Basketball's National Player of the Week for games from February 8th to February 14th.
The 6-foot-2 guard began the week by entering his name into the school record books, scoring 37 points on 12-of-15 shooting as BYU defeated San Francisco. He set the school's single-game freshman scoring record and tied the school record with 10 made three-point field goals. Two days later, Emery refused to cool down, posting 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting as the Cougars cruised to a win over Santa Clara. On the week, Emery averaged 34.0 points and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 69.4 percent (25-36) from the field, 65 percent (13-20) from three-point range, and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
Emery led BYU to wins by an average of 29.5 points this past week as the Cougars sit two games behind Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference. If Emery continues his emergence deep into his freshman year, BYU could steal an NCAA Tournament bid in the process.
Jamal Murray guided Kentucky to a pair of blowout wins as the Wildcats jumped into a tie for the SEC lead. The Kitchener, Ontario native has been named NetScouts Basketball's International Player of the Week for games from February 8th to February 14th.
The freshman opened with 24 points while shooting 6-of-10 from deep as Kentucky topped Georgia, 82-48. Murray then scored 26 points and grabbed five rebounds while the Wildcats had another huge victory in an 89-62 defeat at South Carolina. On the week, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 25.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 48.6 percent (17-35) from the field and 47.6 percent (10-21) from three-point range.
As a highly touted freshman coming into the season, Murray has lived up to the hype and blossomed into Kentucky's leading scorer this year. He's averaged 26.5 points per game over his last four contests and has bumped his total to 18.8 on the season. Kentucky has moved atop the SEC standings as a result.
Carl Berman is Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball.