Jan 16, 2006

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gerry McNamara, Syracuse

The Orange senior came through with a couple of strong showings on the road. He scored 25 points in a win at Notre Dame, and 29 in a victory at Cincinnati. How hot was McNamara against the Bearcats? He scored 22 points in the second half to turn a close game into a rout.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Texas

The Longhorns came through with a couple of big victories. First came a league win at Iowa State and it is never easy to come away with a victory in Ames. Rick Barnes' squad wrapped up the week with a hard-fought win over Villanova in a match-up of top 10 squads.

COACH OF THE WEEK: Lorenzo Romar, Washington

It is not easy to sweep on the road in the Pac-10. The Huskies came through with wins at USC and UCLA, staging a furious comeback to beat Ben Howland's injury-riddled Bruins.

DIAPER DANDY OF THE WEEK: Terrence Williams, Louisville

Even in defeat, he had a career-high 25 points in Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh.

SHOCK OF THE WEEK: Central Florida over Houston

There were plenty of surprises last week. Kansas State ended a 31-game drought against Kansas. Kentucky lost back-to-back home games for the first time since 1989. North Carolina fell at home to Miami.

The biggest surprise came at Houston. Tom Penders' squad fell to a Central Florida club that had been 1-5 in its prior six games coming in. Houston entered the contest 9-4 but fell 66-56.

Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.