Feast Week is upon us and here at Mid-Major Madness, we need your help to decide our men’s player of week by voting in the poll below.
Here are our top five men’s candidates and a recap of their outstanding performances from across week three of the college basketball season.
Shelton Williams-Dryden – West Georgia
In three appearances this past week, Williams-Dryden averaged 20.6 PPG and 13.0 RPG with a pair of double-doubles to lead a pair of wins. In last Monday’s at Tennessee Tech, he finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds, two blocked shots and went 9-for-10 at the charity stripe to see out the 61-59 win.
USC Upstate visited West Georgia on Friday with Williams-Dryden managing 22 points, 17 rebounds and two steals for that second double-double of the week and a third straight win. On Sunday, the Wolves battled Georgia Tech on the road and led for the majority of the first half.
However, the Yellow Jackets shot 70% in the second half and despite Williams-Dryden’s 21 points, nine rebounds and five steals, West Georgia fell just short of completing the upset.
Cal Poly picked up its first Big 12 upset since 1949 and its second high major win of the Mike DeGeorge era on Thursday as the Mustangs beat Utah 92-85. Ward finished with a career-high 28 points on 9-for-14 shooting and added eight rebounds in the historic upset win.
The sophomore guard is averaging a career-high 15.4 PPG while shooting 51% from the floor this season and was selected as Big West Player of the Week for leading Cal Poly over Utah.
First the first time since the new format’s introduction in 2023, Penn is heading to the Big 5 Classic Championship with a shot at the program’s first city title since 2018-19. Roberts is practically the reason why after two 30+ point performances to lead the Quakers to wins over their local rivals.
Penn hosted St. Joe’s at The Palestra last Monday, and despite the Hawks leading for much of the first half, it was Roberts’ 31 points, five rebounds and three steals that led to an 83-74 win. Later that week, as the Quakers visited Drexel, Roberts dropped 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals for an 84-68 win over the Dragons.
MJ Collins Jr. – Utah State
Jerrod Calhoun’s Utah State is 6-0 to start the season for the second consecutive year after back-to-back wins at the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic last week. The South Carolina native was honored as Most Valuable Player after breaking the tournament’s 14-year single-game scoring record.
He opened the week with 21 points on 7-for-10 from the floor and five assists as the Aggies downed Tulane 96-75 to book a spot in the Charleston Classic Championship. Against Davidson in the final, Collins rained down 40 points and shot 14-for-19 on the night to secure the crown for Utah State. It was the program’s first 40-point outburst in almost 18 years, since Jaycee Carroll’s 44-point effort in 2008.
Though Troy went just 1-1, it was a historic week for the program as the Trojans battled two of the country’s premier programs deep into overtime behind Campbell and Co. Heading into the week, San Diego State resided just outside the AP Top 25 and had received the most votes out of any program not included within the top-25.
That all came crashing down last Wednesday, when Troy traveled to Viejas Arena and went toe-to-toe with the Aztecs. Eventually, the Trojans emerged victorious in a 108-107 double-OT dog fight with Campbell totaling 16 points, four assists and helping to set up Theo Seng’s game-tying layup in overtime.
Only two days after beating San Diego State in double OT, Troy took USC to the brink of triple OT in the Battle of the Trojans. Though it was USC seeing out the eventual 107-106 win, Campbell’s career-high double-double of 32 points, 12 rebounds to go along with eight assists kept Troy in range all night.
