AP College Basketball Players of the Week: Louisville’s Brown, TCU’s Miles

The Associated Press announced its national players of the week in men’s and women’s basketball for Week 15 of the season. On the men’s basketball side: Mikel Brown Jr., No. 21 Louisville The 6-foot-5, 190-pound freshman regarded as a high-end NBA prospect had been struggling with his shot after returning from a lengthy injury absence. That was before he broke out with two huge performances in wins against N.C. State and Baylor. The first was an Atlantic Coast Conference freshman single-game record of 45 points in a rout of N.C. State. Brown made 14 of 23 shots and 10 of 16 3-pointers to go with nine rebounds and three steals in that performance while tying the program’s single-game scoring record set by Wes Unseld in December 1967. He followed with 29 points, six assists and five steals in a win against Baylor. For the week, Brown made 22 of 37 shots (.595) and 14 of 21 3-pointers (.667) while being named ACC player and rookie of the week. Runner-up Nick Boyd, No. 24 Wisconsin. The 6-3 senior was Big Ten player of the week after posting 54 points in wins against then-No. 8 Illinois and then-No. 10 Michigan State. Boyd, who was AP national player of the week on Jan. 13, had 25 points and five assists in 39 minutes of the overtime road win against the Illini. He followed with 29 points against the Spartans. Those wins propelled the Badgers to No. 24 in Monday’s new AP Top 25 poll after receiving no votes a week earlier. Honorable mention JT Toppin, No. 13 Texas Tech. [Texas Tech: JT Toppin, Red Raiders Score Upset Over Vulnerable Arizona] Keep an eye on Dontae Horne, Prairie View A&M. The 6-4, 190-pound senior has been on a monthlong tear. He had 46 points on 14-for-25 shooting in a loss to Southern that stood as the highest output in Division I last week and tied for the fifth best of the season. That followed a 27-point showing in a loss to Florida A&M. Going back to a 38-point effort in a loss to Jackson State, Horne entered this week averaging a national-best 28.1 points since Jan. 17, according to SportRadar. And the women’s side: Olivia Miles, TCU The graduate guard led No. 12 TCU to a pair of wins over top-20 teams last week, with victories over Baylor and West Virginia. Miles had 40 points, hitting 10 3-pointers, in the win over the Bears. Seven of those came in the third quarter, when she had 25 points. Miles averaged 26 points, 6.5 rebounds, five assists and 2.5 steals in the two wins. [TCU: Olivia Miles Scores Career-Best 40 With 10 3s] Runner-up Olivia Olson, No. 6 Michigan. The sophomore guard averaged 22 points, eight rebounds and 5.5 assists in a pair of wins while shooting 55% from the field and 92% from the free-throw line. She now has scored 20 or more points in seven consecutive games, the last of which was a 23-point effort in a win over rival Michigan State. Honorable mention Azzi Fudd, No. 1 UConn; Clara Strack, No. 16 Kentucky; Riley Weiss, Columbia. Keep an eye on High Point graduate guard Aaliyah Collins averaged 26.5 points, 4.5 assists, four steals and 2.5 blocks in a win and a loss last week. She matched a career high with 29 points in a victory over Charleston Southern while also having five steals. Collins also had 24 points, six assists and three steals in an overtime loss to Longwood that was for first place in the Big South Conference. The Associated Press contributed to this report.