College Basketball: B/R National Player of the Year Award Watch for Jan. 16

Doug BrodessJun 4, 2018

Plenty of upsets and close calls highlighted this past week.

While there are still three undefeated teams in D-I college hoops (Syracuse, Baylor and Murray State), there will be plenty of movement in the latest edition of the AP, ESPN/USA Today and B/R polls.

Speaking of movement, there is some shifting in this listing from last week: One player moves back on this list; several players have moved up or down.

Let's take a look at how things stand on the Jan. 16 installment of the B/R National Player of the Year Watch List.

10. Perry Jones III: Baylor

1 of 10

Position: Power Forward

Class: Sophomore

Ht: 6'11" Wt: 235 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 13.8

Rebounds: 7.7

Assists: 1.2

Steals: 1.0 Blocks: 0.9

Last week's ranking: Not listed

This Past Week:

PJ3 jumped back on this Watch List by helping lead the Bears to two impressive wins. Baylor is off to their best start (17-0) and longest undefeated streak in school history.

Jones scored 17 points and pulled down eight boards in a big-time road W against No. 18 Kansas State.

He then dropped in 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Bears routed Oklahoma State at home.

The sophomore PF shot 16-for-24 from the field for the week.

9. John Henson: North Carolina

2 of 10

Position: Power Forward

Class: Junior

Ht: 6'11" Wt: 220 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 14.4

Rebounds: 9.7

Assists: 1.5

Steals: 0.6 Blocks: 3.0

Last week's ranking: No. 6

This Past Week:

Henson had one good and one sub-par outing this week.

The junior PF scored 11 points and snatched 14 rebounds in the Tar Heels' victory over Miami.

But, he never really got on track in Carolina's public humiliation at the hands of Florida State. While Henson scored 10 points, he only pulled down three rebounds and missed all seven of his free throw attempts.

8. Tyler Zeller: North Carolina

3 of 10

Position: Center

Class: Senior

Ht: 7'0" Wt: 250 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 14.4

Rebounds: 9.2

Assists: 1.1

Steals: 1.1 Blocks: 1.2

Last week's ranking: No. 8

This Past Week:

Zeller had two very solid performances as the Tar Heels split a pair of ACC contests.

The senior center scored 16 points and grabbed 10 boards as UNC beat Miami at home.

Even though North Carolina got taken apart in Tallahassee on Saturday, Zeller still put up 14 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.

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7. Anthony Davis: Kentucky

4 of 10

Position: Power Forward

Class: Freshman

Ht: 6'10" Wt: 220 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 13.1

Rebounds: 10.2

Assists: 1.0

Steals: 1.6 Blocks: 4.6

Last week's ranking: No. 9

This Past Week:

Davis continued to impress with two strong outings.

In two road wins, the freshman forward scored a combined 32 points (shooting 13-for-19 from the field), grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked eight shots and pinched five steals.

Davis leads the nation in blocked shots, with 82 rejections already this season.

6. Jeremy Lamb: UConn

5 of 10

Position: Shooting Guard

Class: Sophomore

Ht: 6'5" Wt: 185 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 18.6

Rebounds: 4.3

Assists: 1.6

Steals: 1.7 Blocks: 0.9

Last Week's Rating: No. 5

This Past Week:

Lamb had one good and one "non-standard" outing.

The sophomore guard lit up West Virginia, scoring 25 points and grabbing eight rebounds as the Huskies took down West Virginia.

Lamb scored only six points (shooting 3-for-11 from the field, including missing all four of his shots from beyond the arc) in UConn's road win over Notre Dame. However, he did hand out a career-high seven assists in South Bend.

5. Marcus Denmon: Missouri

6 of 10

Position: Shooting Guard

Class: Senior

Ht: 6'3" Wt: 185 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 17.9

Rebounds: 4.9

Assists: 2.6

Steals: 1.5 Blocks: 0.0

Last Week's Ranking: No. 7

This Past Week:

Denmon shifted to more of a playmaker in Missouri's win over Iowa State. Even though, he only shot 1-for-5 from the floor, the senior guard dished out a season-high seven assists.

In the Tigers' win against Texas, Denmon scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.

4. Harrison Barnes: North Carolina

7 of 10

Position: Small Forward

Class: Sophomore

Ht: 6'8" Wt: 215 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 16.8

Rebounds: 4.8

Assists: 1.1

Steals: 1.1 Blocks: 0.4

Last Week's Ranking: No. 3

This Past Week:

Barnes had two lackluster performances this week.

The sophomore SF only scored six points on 2-for-12 FG shooting, including missing all five of his shots from beyond the arc.

Barnes scored 15 points in UNC's embarrassing defeat to Florida State, but he was 5-for-13 from the floor including 1-for-4 from downtown. He also committed five turnovers against the Seminoles.