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NM STATE'S SIAKAM NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NM State sophomore forward Pascal Siakam has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 21-27. This is his fourth WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the sixth of his career.
The Douala, Cameroon, native averaged 30.5 points on 55 percent shooting, 10.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week. In a win over Oral Roberts last Monday, Siakam matched his career high in scoring with 35 points, the most in the WAC this season, to go with 11 rebounds and two blocks. It was his third 30-point game this season, the most for the Aggies since Troy Gillenwater had four 30-plus games during the 2010-11 season. Two days later he scored 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and nabbed two steals in an 85-70 loss at No. 22 Baylor. Siakam has 11 double-doubles to lead the nation and holds the highest scoring average by nearly four points among all players averaging a double-double this season. He leads the nation in field goals made (119), leads the WAC and ranks fifth nationally in rebounding (11.9), leads the WAC and ranks sixth nationally in scoring (23.8), leads the WAC and ranks 39th nationally in minutes per game (35.77), and leads the WAC and ranks 62nd nationally in blocks per game (1.92).
Other nominees included: Jaylin Airington of CSU Bakersfield finished with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in a win over Portland State ... Chicago State's Fred Sims Jr. finished with 26 points, two rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in a loss at Marquette ... Joshua Braun of Grand Canyon averaged 16.5 points and 3.5 rebounds and was named MVP of the Global Sports Classic as the Lopes won the tournament ... Seattle U's William Powell finished with 12 points on 60 percent shooting, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal in a loss to Washington ... Antonio Green of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 15.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals and was named to the all-tournament team at the Global Sport Hoops Classic last week ... Utah Valley's Jaden Jackson averaged 13.5 points, 2.5 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in rebounding (42.4), rebounding defense (30.5), rebounding margin (11.9), offensive rebounds (13.00) and defensive rebounds (29.38), while Seattle U is tops in scoring defense (64.8), field goal percentage defense (39.7), three-point field goal percentage (39.4) and assists (15.50). CSU Bakersfield leads the league in blocks (5.08), turnover margin (3.00) and assist-turnover ratio (1.19), while Grand Canyon is tops in scoring (78.5), scoring margin (9.2) and field goal percentage (46.8). Chicago State leads the WAC in steals (8.36) and three-pointers per game (7.86), while Utah Valley is tops in free throw percentage (70.2), three-point field goal percentage defense (30.7).
Individually, NM State's Pascal Siakam leads the WAC in scoring (23.8), rebounding (11.9), blocked shots (1.92), defensive rebounds (7.85) and minutes per game (35.77). Grand Canyon's DeWayne Russell leads the WAC in assists (5.54) and steals (2.0), while teammates Grandy Glaze and Joshua Braun are tops in tops in field goal percentage (62.5) and free throw percentage (87.3), respectively. CSU Bakersfield's Damiyne Durham leads the WAC in three-pointers per game (3.64), while teammates Brent Wrapp and Kevin Mays are tops in assist-turnover ratio (3.06) and offensive rebounds (4.08), respectively. UT Rio Grande Valley's Antonio Green leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (46.7).