Chris Udofia named WAC POW

Denver’s Chris Udofia has been named the Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 11-17.

Udofia, a junior forward from Irving, Texas (Jesuit Prep), continued his well-balanced offensive and defensive play in DU’s road sweep over Utah State and San Jose State last week. He recorded five assists, five rebounds and a blocked shot in each game. He scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a 1-of-1 mark from three-point range in a 63-60 overtime win at Utah State. Udofia recorded a team-high 13 points and career-high five steals in the 62-41 win at San Jose State. His assist-to-turnover ratio for the week was 3.3. He played a key role to Denver’s defense that limited its opponents to 60 and 41 points per game, improving their season average of 54.9, which is first in the WAC in sixth in the nation. Udofia became the 33rd player in DU history to eclipse 1,000-career points this past week.

On the week, Udofia averaged 11.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He shot 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from the field and 66.7 percent (2-of-3) from three-point range.

Other nominees:

* Idaho senior Kyle Barone averaged 20.0 points and 9.0 rebounds over two game

* Louisiana Tech sophomore guard Raheem Appleby scored 28 points with four rebounds in a win at Idaho

* New Mexico State senior Bandja Sy averaged 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds over a pair of games on the road

* UT Arlington senior forward Kevin Butler connected on a perfect 7-for-7 threes to break the school record in a win over Idaho on the road

* UTSA senior guard Michael Hale III averaged 15.5 points over two games

* Utah State junior Jarred Shaw averaged 21.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in two games