College Basketball's All-Week 14 1st Team: Top Performers at Every Position

Week 14 of the college basketball season gave us the best of virtually everything.

Some star power, sure, but we'll also introduce you to a couple of new players who had fantastic weeks. Or do you regularly follow the UIC Flames or Stony Brook Seawolves?

We think a little outside the box for a couple of selections as well, including moving Notre Dame's Demetrius Jackson over a spot because he did a fair amount of successful shooting this week.

That's what makes college basketball so great: Anyone can erupt with a huge performance, and the weekly stars can come in all shapes and sizes. Games of all sizes too. That's what we'll examine here.

Every week, we pick a first- and second-teamer at all five positions, plus a duo off the bench (we even have some fun there with the Kentucky Wildcats). Stat-stuffing games are seriously considered, but we also take a look at cumulative consistency against strong competition and players who have performed above their season averages from last Sunday through Saturday night's games.

Let us know what you think of our picks, and share your own in the comments section.

Point Guard: Devonte' Graham, Kansas

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Feb. 9 vs. West Virginia: 10 points, four rebounds, four assists

Feb. 13 at Oklahoma: 27 points, three rebounds, two assists

It's easy to forget sophomore Devonte' Graham was pretty darn good in the Kansas Jayhawks' first meeting with the Oklahoma Sooners too, scoring 22 points (6-of-12 shooting) on Jan. 4 in the triple-overtime classic. There's no forgetting Graham this time, though.

He was a three-point threat from his first shot in Norman, making 6-of-9 total and also played some stealthy defense on Buddy Hield, who made five of his 11 trey attempts. That included keeping the Sooners star from getting near the rim while on a dead sprint early in the first half.

Graham's point total was a career high in a win that put the Jayhawks back in the forefront of the Big 12 title picture. He even outscored Hield by three.
 

Second Team: Maurice Watson Jr., Creighton

Feb. 9 vs. Xavier: 32 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals

Feb. 13 at Marquette: 18 points, five rebounds, 10 assists, two steals

A lot of eyes left the Creighton Bluejays after Doug McBuckets joined the NBA. But Maurice Watson Jr. is quietly having a stellar year that included two magnificent games this week.

The 5'10" junior struggled from three-point range (1-of-9 in the two games) but still hit 18 of the 33 shots he fired for a Bluejays team that has impressively jumped to third place in a competitive Big East.

Shooting Guard: Demetrius Jackson, Notre Dame

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Feb. 8 at Clemson: 17 points, three assists

Feb. 13 vs. Louisville: 27 points, five assists

Pardon us for taking some liberty here. Demetrius Jackson can be considered more of a point guard, but his week deserved first-team praise.

He sure shot to get there, taking 28 attempts and making 13 in a two-game sweep for the surging Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The junior made eight of the 18 three-point tries he attempted and played 40 minutes for the third straight game.

Second Team: Grayson Allen, Duke

Feb. 8 vs. Louisville: 19 points, four rebounds

Feb. 13 vs. Virginia: 15 points, seven rebounds, seven assists

Sophomore Grayson Allen was a clunky 4-of-11 against the Virginia Cavaliers, but what a way to finish—a funky running bank shot that produced a 63-62 win. Allen wasn't as strong as teammate Brandon Ingram during the week, but when the game was on the line, it was Grayson time.

"You go. See what's there," coach Mike Krzyzewski told him, per ESPN. The win was a present for Krzyzewski's 69th birthday, and Allen made sure the Cavaliers haven't won at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995.

Small Forward (Wing): Jabari Bird, Cal

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Feb. 11 vs. Oregon: 24 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals

Feb. 13 vs. Oregon State: 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists

Now this is the California Golden Bears we've been expecting. Is it too little, too late? A bird is trying to tell us no. That's Jabari Bird, a 6'6" junior who exceeded his 9.4 points-per-game average.

He strung together 72 minutes in the two wins, making 9-of-14 shots in each.

Second team: Zak Irvin, Michigan

Feb. 10 at Minnesota: Four points, two rebounds, three assists, two steals

Feb. 13 vs. Purdue: 22 points, five rebounds

Zak Irvin was the only Michigan Wolverines player to score in double figures in a nice win against the Purdue Boilermakers. Along with Derrick Walton, he scored the last 11 points in the rally against a Top 25 team.

The 6'6" junior picked a nice time to produce double his season scoring average.

Power Forward: Jameel Warney, Stony Brook

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Feb. 8 vs. Hartford: 36 points, 13 rebounds

Feb. 11 at UMBC: 22 points, seven rebounds, three blocks

You could be hearing about the Stony Brook Seawolves some more come March. And Jameel Warney, a 6'8" senior, would be a big reason why. He's playing the kind of ball that could finally lead him to a deserved NCAA tournament appearance.

He made 25-of-30 shots last week as his team pulled off a couple of easy wins, improving to 21-4 and staying undefeated (12-0) in the America East standings. That's big—including a three-game lead on second place—because it means home-court advantage through the conference tournament.

Remember that name: Jameel Warney. KenPom.com even has him as a top-10 Player of the Year candidate.

Second Team: Ben Bentil, Providence

Feb. 10 at Marquette: 42 points, 12 rebounds, two assists

Feb. 13 vs. Georgetown: 16 points, nine rebounds

The Providence Friars have hit a skid, but it's hard to blame Bentil.

He did miss 18 of his 29 shots in the double-overtime loss to the Marquette Golden Eagles, but come on—the Big East's scoring leader still pulled his end of the rope.

He helped Providence end a three-game losing streak mostly from the foul line, making nine of the 10 charity shots while struggling from the field (3-of-11).

Center: Tai Odiase, UIC

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Tai Odiase (No. 21)

Feb. 11 vs. Wright State: 18 points, six rebounds, seven blocks

Feb. 13 vs. Northern Kentucky: 12 points, eight rebounds, nine blocks

Part of the fun of this weekly segment is finding under-the-radar guys who jump off the page. Tai Odiase, a 6'9" sophomore, had a marvelous week in propelling a team at the bottom of the Horizon League standings.

The UIC Flames are now 5-19 (3-10 in conference) but posted a pair of wins and had a week worth remembering from the big fella, including 13-of-20 made shots.

Second Team: Landen Lucas, Kansas

Feb. 9 vs. West Virginia: Nine points, 16 rebounds, four blocks

Feb. 13 at Oklahoma: Seven points, 10 rebounds

Consider what Landen Lucas did against the West Virginia Mountaineers compared to his regular per-game averages (about five points and five rebounds).

The Jayhawks needed all of it against a tough team. He followed up with a solid game at Oklahoma.

Off the Bench: Kenny Payne, Kentucky

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Feb. 13: One game coached, one win

Perhaps the only thing tougher than coming off the bench is sliding one seat over.

Kentucky Wildcats assistant Kenny Payne sure made it look easy as his team dismantled the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road after John Calipari was ejected three minutes into the game, winning 89-62.

Payne, a first-round NBA draft pick in 1989 out of Louisville, credited point guard Tyler Ulis afterward. Ulis had career highs of 27 points and 12 assists, while Jamal Murray added 26 points.

Second Team: Harrison Niego, Indiana

Feb. 11 vs. Iowa: Two points, one steal

Indiana Hoosiers coach Tom Crean went to walk-on Harrison Niego in their big win against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Niego hit a jump shot that sparked a 12-2 run in the second half. As Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star wrote afterward, "Nothing sparks the Assembly Hall crowd like a walk-on stealing the show."