College Basketball's All-Week 6 First Team: Top Performers at Every Position

This is a regular week in review—an examination of college basketball games, Sunday to Saturday.

In Week 6, there continued to be a lot of impressive single-game performances. Many teams have staggered their schedules to accommodate final exams and are in the final stages of nonconference play.

The Pac-12 had a quality group of selections, and there were even a few strong nominees from losing teams. A couple of smaller-conference guys you may not know much about, but who have earned the praise, highlighted the point guard spot.

Big scoring efforts are always taken into consideration, of course. But we also look at other storylines that made a player's performance special during the last seven days.

In some cases, we looked a little closer at teammates before narrowing it down to one. Playing well against good (ranked) teams always strengthens a particular case.

Picks are by position and include some off-the-bench studs.

Other great players and performances missed the cut this week, but tell us how you feel in the comments and let us know where we can do better.

On to the weekly highlights...

Point Guard: Wes Washpun, Northern Iowa

Matthew Holst/Getty Images

Dec. 19 vs. Iowa State: 28 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds

That picture says it all. Washpun just about did it all Saturday in a shocking 81-79 upset of Iowa State. His points and assist totals were career highs for the 6'1" senior. Northern Iowa hit 13 of its first 17 shots, and Washpun made his first six shots, producing 17 points by halftime.

Washpun also got some love earlier this season after UNI ousted North Carolina.

Second Team: Trey Davis, UMass

Dec. 16 vs. New Orleans: 40 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists, 2 blocks

Talk about it being wise to listen to your mom. The struggling senior did just that, taking her advice to remove cellphone distractions, and he scored nearly one point per minute (he was on the floor for 42 minutes) in an overtime win versus New Orleans. He made 18 straight free throws and got himself out of a vicious slump that included shooting 26 percent from the floor during a three-game losing streak.

Shooting Guard: Stefan Moody, Ole Miss

Rick Wilson/Associated Press

Dec. 15. vs. Louisiana Tech: 29 points, 4 assists

Dec. 18 vs. Memphis: 21 points, 3 assists

We knew eventually we'd hear from the senior basket-filler, who made 16 of his 42 shot attempts in a couple of solid non-league wins.

Against Memphis, Moody wasn't much to write home about in the second half—he scored only five points. But that was because Memphis opted to totally gear its defense toward stopping him after a hot first half with a double-team that would make Steph Curry smile.

Second Team: Je'lon Hornbeak, Monmouth

Dec. 13 vs. Wagner: 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists

Dec. 15 vs. Georgetown: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Hand it to a guy who goes for double his season scoring average with a big game against a quality opponent. The 6'3" junior did it by sinking 15 of the 16 free throws he took in a 15-point win against the Hoyas that continued to prove these Hawks aren't just a sideline-celebration show—they're for real. This continues to be a team that puts up nomination-caliber guys all over the place in nonconference play.

Small Forward (Wing): Elgin Cook, Oregon

Otto Kitsinger/Associated Press

Dec. 15 vs. UC Irvine: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

Dec. 18 vs. Long Beach State: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists

The rangy senior really took it to UC Irvine, scoring Oregon's first seven second-half points as the Ducks went on an 18-4 run that put away a solid nonconference affair. The 26 points tied his career high.

He thrived at picking his spots last week against two different styles, making half (three) of his three-point attempts and 14 of 24 shot attempts.

Second Team: Jamal Murray, Kentucky

Dec. 19 vs. Ohio State: 33 points, 3 rebounds

Murray's Wildcats didn't win. But you've got to appreciate a guy who leads a charge by knocking down seven second-half three-pointers.

Power Forward: Jordan Tolbert, SMU

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Dec. 16 vs. Nicholls State: 18 points, 23 rebounds

Dec. 17 vs. Hampton: 20 points, 19 rebounds

The 6'7" senior did a lot of damage on back-to-back nights as the Mustangs (9-0) are off to their best start since going 10-0 to open the 1997-98 season. Amazingly, Tolbert only picked up one foul in the two games, as well.

In the first game of the week, Tolbert grabbed the most boards at SMU since 1975.

Second Team: Brice Johnson, North Carolina

Dec. 16 vs. Tulane: 25 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals

Dec. 19 vs. UCLA: 27 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks

Sometimes a dude just needs to respond to his own frustration. Johnson was benched early and did all of his damage at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, against UCLA in the final 27 minutes. He's posted career scoring nights in two games during the week. It took a monster effort from Tolbert above to knock Johnson down one tier.

Center: Jakob Poeltl, Utah

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

Dec. 16 vs. Savannah State: 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks

Dec. 19 vs. Duke: 19 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks

The sophomore sure made a good move to stay at Utah one more year, as Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore pointed out. The Austrian fouled out late, but not before producing three big-time blocked shots in a 77-75 win against Duke at Madison Square Garden.

He'll be around NYC again soon enough, making darn good money.

Second Team: A.J. Hammons, Purdue

Dec. 19 vs. Butler: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks

Hammons didn't win, but he did showcase all that he can do in 21 minutes, as Isaac Haas struggled.

Off the Bench: Luke Kennard, Duke

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

Dec. 15 vs. Georgia Southern: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Dec. 19 vs. Utah: 24 points, 8 assists

Sure, the freshman looks exasperated during what turned into an overtime loss to Utah Saturday. But let's not forget that he scored a career high against a quality opponent. It was the Blue Devils' third game at Madison Square Garden, and he had posted just 10 points combined against VCU and Georgetown.

He made 12 of 13 free throws, getting aggressive against the Utes—another good guard-play sign for a team that's growing up.

Second Team: Isaiah Hicks, North Carolina

Dec. 16 vs. Tulane: 11 points, 3 assists, 2 steals

Dec. 19 vs. UCLA: 12 points, 4 rebounds

We remind readers, again, that this isn't a season-long award. It's supposed to be for games that only pertain to a seven-day period. But it bears noting that Hicks has spiked his season scoring average in the past three games and made nine of his 11 shots this week in a tidy 36 minutes.