College Basketball Player of the Day

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Conference Tournament Dates

March 7, 2025 Player of the Day - Tre White, Illinois Fighting Illini

Conference tournaments are already underway.

ASUN, Big South, CAA, Horizon League, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Summit, Sunbelt, and West Coast conferences began as early as March 4. The earliest automatic bid will go to the champions of the Ohio Valley on Saturday, March 8.

Major conference tourneys begin Tuesday and Wednesday, March 11 and 12, and will proceed through next week until Selection Sunday, March 16.

Friday night, Illinois made their case for the post-season, rallying late to upend #18 Purdue, 88-80, in the conference finale for both teams.

Down five points with 2:52 remaining, the Fighting Illini staged a 12-2 run, capped off by Kasparas Jakucionis' 3-pointer at the 40-second mark to put Illinois up 82-79. Purdue failed to respond and Illinois players knocked down six straight free throws to put the game out of reach.

Trey Kaufman-Renn led all scorers with 29 points, but it wasn't enough as the Illini put five players into double figures, including Trey White's 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting, going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, adding three free throws and nine rebounds.

White, a 6'7" junior guard from Dallas, Texas, played his freshman year at USC, spent the next season at Louisville and joined the Fighting Illini for the 2024-25 campaign.A high-percentage shooter, White is averaging 10.4 points per game, connecting at a 50.5% rate.

Illinois' win puts them at 20-11 and 12-8 in conference play. Purdue, losing for the fifth time in their last seven games, missed out on a double bye in the upcoming Big Ten tournament which begins Wednesday, March 12. They, along with Illinois, UCLA, and Oregon, will get a pass in just the first round.

Michigan State has already secured the regular season crown. They qualify for the double bye along with Michigan and Wisconsin. Maryland needs to defeat Northwestern on Saturday to secure their position in the top four.

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March 6, 2025 Player of the Day - Jase Richardson, Michigan State Spartans

#8 Michigan State wrapped up their Big Ten regular season title quest Thursday night with a dramatic come-from-behind, 91-84, road win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. (15-15, 6-13).

Leading, 37-30, at the break, Iowa increased its lead to 10 points early in the second half, but the Spartans responded with a 19-2 run and led the rest of the way to victory.

Jase Richardson, led all scorers with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting, going 2-for-6 from 3-point range making 6 of 9 from the foul line. Richardson is second on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game. Jaden Atkins leads the Spartans at 13.0.

Richardson, a 6'3" freshman from Denver, Colorado, has scored in double figures eight straight games and is shooting 52.1% from the field.

With their sixth straight win, the Spartans improved to 25-5 overall and 16-3 in the Big Ten.

The win secured an 11th conference title for Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who now shares the Big Ten record with Indiana's Bobby Knight and Purdue's Ward Lambert. This is Michigan State's first regular season crown since 2020.
Michigan State hosts Michigan and Iowa is at Nebraska on Sunday. The Big Ten conference tournament begins on Wednesday, March 12.

March 5, 2025 Player of the Day - Terrence Edwards Jr., Louisville Cardinals

As March commences, upsets become more frequent.

On Wednesday, there were three. In the SEC, #4 Tennessee was downed by host Ole Miss, 78-74, and Oklahoma downed visiting $15 Missouri, 96-84. Defending champion UConn, unranked, took care of business at home, defeating #20 Marquette, 72-66.

One team that wasn't upset and is looking strong heading into its conference tournament was #14 Louisville, which dominated visiting California, 85-68, behind a career-high 35 points from Terrence Edwards Jr., who hit 11 of 19 shots from the field, including 7 of 11 3-pointers. Edwards was 6-for-8 from the line and added four rebounds and an assist.

Edwards opened the scoring for the Cardinals with a 3-pointer. He made six of his first eight shots, including five 3-pointers to give Louisville a 22-19 lead, 7:22 into the contest. After Cal tied the score at 22, the Cardinals broke the game open after that with a 19-4 run for a 41-26 edge at the break.

Edwards poured in 18 second half points as the Cardinals pushed their lead to as high as 24 points.

A 6'6" Senior from Atlanta, Georgia, Edwards transferred to Louisville after being named Sun Belt Player of the Year at James Madison last season. He's averaging 15.8 points per game for the Cardinals, right behind team leader Chucky Hepburn (16.3).

Louisville (24-6, 17-2) has won eight straight and trails Duke in the ACC by one game. Duke plays North Carolina and Louisville hosts Stanford to close out the regular season on Saturday (3/8).

March 4, 2025 Player of the Day - Zhuric Phelps, Texas A&M Aggies

It's March, so upsets will happen, as they did Tuesday night.

In the Big 12, surging BYU, ranked 23rd, upended #10 Iowa State in oduble overtime, 88-85. Unranked Texas downed #25 Mississippi State in overtime, 87-82.

It was senior night at #22 Texas A&M, and the Aggies used the occasion to end a four-game winning streak and upset #1 Auburn, 83-72, as Zhuric Phelps came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points.

Auburn's Tahaad Pettiford scored 19 for Auburn, but player of the year candidate John Broome was ineffective, scoring just eight points.

Phelps was 6-for-16 from the field and 2-for-7 on 3-pointers, adding five points from the foul line. He had plenty of help, especially from his front line. The Aggies out-rebounded Auburn, 41-25, including 24 on the offensive end, helping their edge of 36-28 points in the paint and getting 15 more field goal attempts than the Tigers.

Phelps, a 6'4" guard from Midland, Texas, whose forte is to provide a spark for the Aggies, did just that, making his presence felt in just 23 minutes of floor time. He averages 14.6 points per game and 5.1 rebounds.

Auburn out-shot the Aggies, 50% to 43% and were better at 3-pointers and at the foul line (86.7% to 72.0%), but getting extra possessions was key to A&M's victory.

The Aggies led the entire game, their biggest lead of 13 points coming early in the second half, opening up on a 40-34 halftime lead to blow the game open. After that, Auburn never got closer than six points. They were absolutely smoked.

The loss left Auburn at 27-3 overall and 15-2 in the SEC, where they have already wrapped up the regular season. The letdown by Auburn may not be anything more than a lack of preparation. More will become known when the SEC tournament begins next week, Wednesday, March 12.

The Aggies (21-9, 10-7) close out the regular season Saturday at LSU while the Tigers look to close out on a high note when they host #7 Alabama, also on Saturday.

March 3, 2025 Player of the Day - Cooper Flagg, Duke Blue Devils

As might be expected from a leading candidate for Player of the Year, Cooper Flagg did all the right things Monday night at Cameron Indoor Arena, closing out a perfect season for the Blue Devils on their home floor with a 93-60 blowout win over Wake Forest.

Flagg scored a game-high 28 points, with 8 rebounds, 7 assists, two steals, and three blocks. He was 10-for-16 from the field, including 3 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. He made good on 5 of 6 free throws.

Flagg, a 6'9" freshman from Newport, Maine is averaging 19.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game this season. He is expected to jump to the NBA, probably as the #1 pick in the draft, at the conclusion of the college season.

Duke clinched at least a tie for the regular season title with the win and haven't lost a home game this season. Their three losses have been to Kentucky, 77-72, Kansas, 75-72, on neutral courts, and at Clemson, their only conference defeat, 77-71. Since that Clemson loss, they've won seven straight, all by 18 points or more.

The #2 Blue Devils are 27-3 overall and 18-1 in the ACC and close out the regular at North Carolina, Saturday (3/8). Clemson, 16-2, can tie Duke for the regular season title. Louisville is also 16-2, but Duke defeated them earlier in the season, 76-75.

Th ACC Tournament gets underway on Tuesday, March 11. Duke is favored to win and be one of the four #1 seeds in the National Championship Tournament which follows.

March 2, 2025 Player of the Day - Dain Dainja, Memphis Tigers

P.J. Haggerty scored a game high 25 points, Colby Rogers dropped in 21 with five 3-pointers, but Dain Dainja was an immovable force in the paint, scoring 16 points with 17 rebounds, as #18 Memphis all but locked up the AAC regular season title with an 88-81 road win at UAB.

Dainja, a 6'9", 271-pound senior from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota was 8-for-15 from the floor and tallied a career-high in boards. The big man transferred from Illinois following the 2023-24 season and has provided Memphis with a reliable inside game to complement their dangerous outside shooters.

Dainja added two assists, two blocked shots and a steal in Sunday's performance, registering his third straight double-double and sixth of the season. His averages of 13. and 7.0 rebounds are the best of his four-year college career as he has upped his playing time from 10.7 minutes last season at Illinois to 25.4 in 2024-25. He's also one of the most efficient post players in the country, shooting at a 60.3% clip (14th) from the field and leads the American conference in that department.

UAB lead by as many as 11 points in the first half, taking a 42-36 edge into the break. The Tigers rallied from a 9-point deficit eight minutes into the second half, taking the lead for good at 75-73 with 4:40 to go. The Tigers outscored the Blazers 15-8 over the final 5:06, punctuated by Dainja's dunk at the 40-second mark. Memphis outscored UAB in the paint, 48-40, and had a rebounding edge of 44-32.

The win was the third straight for Memphis, 11th of their last twelve, and their 10th road win against two losses. Memphis has a conference mark of 14-2 and is 24-5 overall. Only North Texas (12-3, 21-6) has any chance to deny the Tigers taking the AAC regular season crown, but Memphis already owns a 68-64 win over the Mean Green from earlier in the season.

The Tigers can wrap things up with a win either Tuesday at Texas-San Antonio (5-11) or at home on Friday against South Florida (6-11).

The AAC tournament begins March 12 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

March 1, 2025 Player of the Day - Chucky Hepburn, Louisville Cardinals

There was no shortage of candidates worthy of consideration for Player of the Day honors on the first of March as 20 of the nation's Top 25 teams hit the hardwoods Saturday.

#1 Auburn got 30 points from Miles Kelly in its 94-78 win over #17 Kentucky. Will Richard poured in 25 points as #3 Florida blew past #12 Texas A&M, 89-70. Jahmai Mashack buried a 40-footer at the buzzer to send #5 Tennessee to a 79-76 victory over #6 Alabama, and Josh Hubbard threw down 30 points to lead #24 Mississippi State past LSU, 81-69.

But, it was Chucky Hepburn's career-high 37 points in #19 Louisville's 79-68 win over the visiting Pitt Panthers that earned top billing on the first day of college basketball's maddest month.

Hepburn was perfect from beyond the arc, banging home all six of his 3-point attempts, finishing 9-for-11 from the field and 13 of 17 from the foul line. Adding to his repertoire, Hepburn snatched four rebounds, dished four assists and made two steals.

Incidentally, Hepburn, a 6'2" guard from Omaha, Nebraska, was the first in idleguy.com's Player of the Day series. He scored 26 points on New Year's Day in the Cardinals' 83-70 win over North Carolina to earn the honor.

With that tally, as conference play was just getting underway, Hepburn's averages were 15.9 points and 5.4 assists per game. After Saturday's performance, through the rigorous ACC schedule, those numbers are even better, at 16.3 points and 6.0 assists. He's tied for 11th in ACC scoring and is second to Georgia Tech's Nathan George (6.4) in the assist department.

Louisville improved to 16-2 in conference play and 23-6 overall. The Cardinals are tied with #13 Clemson in the conference race, both a game behind 17-1 Duke.

The victory was Louisville's seventh straight. The Cardinals now have the opportunity to extend their winning streak and close out the regular season on a high note, as their last two games are at home, against Cal (6-12, 13-16) March 5th, and Stanford (11-7, 19-10) March 8th.

Pitt, at 7-11 in the ACC and 16-13 overall, may not make the NCAA tourney field unless they finish well. They are at NC State on Wednesday (3/5) and home for Boston College on Saturday, March 8.

The ACC Tournament, with the automatic bid to the winner, begins Tuesday, March 11.

February 28, 2025 Player of the Day - Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue Boilermakers

Behind Trey Kaufman-Renn's game-high 29 points, the #20 Purdue Boilermakers snapped a four-game losing streak, taking down UCLA in a Big Ten contest Friday, 76-66.

Playing on their home court at Mackey Arena, the Boilermakers put together a 12-0 run late in the second half, blowing open a close game. Kaufman-Renn scored six points during the burst. When Braden Smith rocked down back-to-back 3-pointers at 2:54 and 2:08, the outcome was essentially decided, with Purdue ahead, 73-60. Smith made six 3-pointers as part of his 23-point production.

Kaufman-Renn, who leads the team in scoring at 19.6 points per game, was a force in the paint, hitting 11 of 15 shots from close range. He added 7 of 10 from the foul line and had three rebounds and three steals. He's scored in double figures in 28 of Purdue's 29 games this season and also leads the Boilermakers in rebounds (6.0).

A 6'9" junior from Sellersburg, Indiana, Kaufman-Renn was part of the Purdue team that was upset in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA tournament by Fairleigh-Dickinson and also last year's Purdue squad that lost in the championship game to UConn.

Friday's result left both teams with 20-9 records. Purdue is fourth in the Big Ten, at 12-6. UCLA is 11-7, in sixth place.

Purdue hosts Rutgers Tuesday (3/4) and closes out the regular season at Illinois on Friday, March 7.

UCLA plays at Northwestern Monday night (3/3) and finishes up at home against USC on Saturday, March 8.

The Big Ten tournament begins Wednesday, March 12.