CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Josh Howard, Wake Forest and Matt Carroll, Notre Dame
There were a number of great performances last week. Ruben Douglas of New Mexico had two outstanding outings in defeats. Matt Freije led Vanderbilt to wins over Georgia and Mississippi.
My choices for co-Players of the Week are enjoying outstanding seasons. Josh Howard had a double-double against Clemson before posting a career-high 32 points, including the game-winning basket on a driving hoop and a foul at North Carolina.
Matt Carroll has developed into a potential NBA player this season. He had 18 points in a win over West Virginia before exploding for 36 points against Georgetown.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Stanford
Coach Mike Montgomery has done a fine job, considering the Cardinal lost Casey Jacobsen and Curtis Borchardt early to the NBA draft. Point guard Chris Hernandez is lost for the rest of the season, and Justin Davis sat out five games due to injury.
Despite those problems, the Cardinal is in the hunt in the Pac-10. Last week was a big one for Stanford, winning at No. 1 Arizona (its third straight win at Tucson), followed by a hard-fought victory at Arizona State.
It is not easy to pull off the double in the desert. That's why Stanford is my Team of the Week.
SHOCK OF THE WEEK: Stanford over Arizona
After the Wildcats looked like they had distanced themselves as the nation's premier team with a comeback win at Kansas...
Stanford went into Tucson and came out with an impressive win. Matt Lottich scored 23 points, including a key 3-pointer in the upset. The Cardinal has put together a solid resumé, with wins over Arizona, Florida, Xavier, Oregon, Gonzaga and Arizona State.
CO-DIAPER DANDIES OF THE WEEK:
Craig Smith, Boston College and Chris Bosh, Georgia Tech
Craig Smith has had a super freshman season, though he may be overshadowed in the Big East by Syracuse freshman Carmelo Anthony as well as teammates Troy Bell and Ryan Sidney.
All Smith did was put up impressive numbers in a pair of road routs. He hit 10-of-12 shots, scoring 25 at Virginia Tech, before contributing 20 points at Connecticut.
Chris Bosh, who keeps coach Paul Hewitt smiling, had a pair of 22-point efforts in wins over North Carolina and Virginia.
COACH OF THE WEEK: Al Skinner, Boston College
It has not been an easy season for the Eagles, with losses to Holy Cross and Northeastern.
But Boston College was impressive with a pair of easy road wins last week. Ironically, the wins at Virginia Tech and Connecticut came by the same score -- 95-71. Those victories came after back-to-back losses to Villanova and Notre Dame, making the feat even more impressive.
