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Illini’s Keaton Wagler chosen AP men’s college basketball player of the week after win over Purdue

The freshman guard from Shawnee, Kansas, set an Illini record with nine 3-pointers while scoring 46 points in an 88-82 win at then-No. 4 Purdue last week. Photo: Contributed


(AP) – The Associated Press national player of the week in men’s college basketball for Week 12 of the season:

Keaton Wagler, No. 9 Illinois

The freshman guard from Shawnee, Kansas, set an Illini record with nine 3-pointers while scoring 46 points in an 88-82 win at then-No. 4 Purdue last week. Wagler finished 13 of 17 from the floor, hit several big buckets in the closing seconds, and wound up with the most points ever scored in a road win over a top-10 opponent in the AP poll era.

Wagler has hit double-figures in 12 consecutive games, including a 13-point, eight-assist, seven-rebound performance in an 89-70 blowout of Maryland earlier in the week. The two victories helped the Illini to push their winning streak to nine games and climb two spots to No. 9 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.

Runner-up

Joshua Jefferson, No. 8 Iowa State. The All-Big 12 forward had his second triple-double of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists — and four steals — in an 87-57 win over UCF. He also had 20 points and four boards in an 84-71 win over Oklahoma State.

Honorable mention

Kingston Flemings, No. 10 Houston; A.J. Dybantsa, No. 13 BYU; Jeremy Fears Jr., No. 7 Michigan State.

Keep an eye on

Kamrin Oriol, G, North Florida. The senior had back-to-back 30-plus scoring games last week, pouring in 32 in an 87-85 victory over Eastern Kentucky, then scoring 33 with 15 assists in a 117-114 overtime win over Bellarmine. Making the performances even more eye-popping: North Florida (5-16) had won only 3 of its first 19 games before the back-to-back victories.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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