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It's all about the guards on this week's edition of BTP's Team of the Week, and for the first time this season, no Spartan or Hoosier made the cut. For the second time this season, we have two teammates who did, though the pairing doesn't come from a team you'd necessarily expect.
Team of the Week: Nov 25 - Dec 1
Player of the Week: Roy Devyn Marble - G, Iowa: 20.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.3 apg
Marble was huge in Iowa's win over Xavier in the Battle 4 Atlantis and nearly led the Hawkeyes to the tournament championship against a surging Villanova. The senior combo guard's scoring average for the week probably would've been much higher had his team needed him in their 46-point thrashing of UTEP (a team which nearly upset Kansas in the tournament's third-place game, for what it's worth). Marble didn't necessarily have a great game against 'Nova shooting-wise, (he did notch five assists and rebounds) but against the Musketeers he showed why Iowa thinks they can challenge for a top-3 spot in the B1G: 30 points and five boards on 10-23 shooting (4-10 from deep) is the kind of stat line you see from go-to guys. That's been the story of his season, too - KenPom's comparison machine spits out Jacob Pullen and Khalif Wyatt as players who have had years similar to Marble's thus far.
Rayvonte Rice - G, Illinois: 21.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.0 spg
The B1G's actual choice for Player of the Week, Rice was immense in the Illini's two close wins last week over UNLV and IPFW. The Drake transfer went for 25 and 10 rebounds at Thomas and Mack to give his team their first road win of the season and followed that up with a 17-point, six-rebound effort against the pesky Mastodons (note: "Pesky Mastodons" is my band name and I will know if you take it). Rice has been Illinois' most consistent scorer and at 17.1 ppg and has immediately become a member of the B1G's top class of guards. At 6'4" 235lbs, he's a fantastic rebounder and is really only a consistent three-point shot away from being considered one of the conference's elite players.
D.J. Newbill - G, Penn State: 21.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 53% 3pt
Penn State lost to Ole Miss in the Barclays Center Classic final, but the Nittany Lions have shown they will be able to compete with every team they play this season and Newbill is a big reason why. The junior is finally playing his natural 2-guard spot and clearly loving every minute of it, averaging 19.5 points per game, good for second in the conference. He's improved his three-pointer immensely in the offseason. Newbill made just 20 from range last year (27%) - he could get his 20th by next week if he keeps up his current 46% clip. He really shined in Brooklyn, missing just 12 of his 32 shot attempts. If he can continue to play at this level, Pat Chambers may finally be proven right when he called his backcourt "the best in the country" some 18 months ago.
Tim Frazier - G, Penn State: 19.0 ppg, 7.7 apg, 5.7 rpg
The second Nittany Lion on this edition of TotW, Frazier is the yin to Newbill's yang. After missing most of his senior season with a ruptured Achilles, Frazier has shaken off some early rust to find his 2011-12 form and then some - he's fifth in the nation in assists per game at 7.5 and his turnover numbers are down since his last full season. Assisting on 42% of his team's points, he's finally got some weapons to showcase - Newbill, Brandon Taylor and Ross Travis are all averaging over 10 points a game, and the Nittany Lions on the whole are scoring 20 more points per game than last season. Frazier has taken full advantage of the new hand-checking enforcement as well - he shot 20 free throws in PSU's win over St. John's.
(tie) JerShon Cobb - G, Northwestern: 19.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 54% FG%
(tie) Amir Williams - C, Ohio State: 15.0 ppg, 11.5 rpg
Cobb's Wildcats are struggling under Chris Collins thus far, though it's no fault of his. The senior was excellent in Northwestern's two losses to power-conference foes last week putting up 44 points on 13-23 shooting against Missouri and UCLA. With Drew Crawford potentially struggling with back spasms for a while, Cobb will have a chance to show what he can do as the team's lead scorer.
Williams is the only forward to get enough votes to secure even a share of a spot on this week's TotW, though that's not to say he wasn't deserving. The 6'11" junior has been somewhat of a revelation for Thad Matta, averaging 11.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season in an expanded role. His 12 point, 16 rebound performance catapulted the Buckeyes past a frisky Wyoming and displayed even more scoring touch in Friday's win over North Florida, going for a team-high 18.
Others receiving multiple votes:
- A.J. Hammons - C, Purdue: 7.7 ppg, 3.7 bpg
- Lenzelle Smith Jr - G, Ohio State: 15.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 67% 3pt
- Sam Dekker - F, Wisconsin: 14.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg
- Zak Irvin - G, Michigan: 26 points, 6-10 3pt, 5 rebs
