Every week The Catch and Shoot will name a Player of the Week, Freshman of the Week, Team of the Week and Game of the Week from the five Division I schools in the Chicago area.
Here are the winners for the 13th week of the season (Feb. 8-Feb. 14):
Player of the Week
Tai Odiase, UIC
Odiase dominated in UIC’s pair of wins last week, averaging 15 points, seven rebounds and eight blocks. He also made a game-winning block in the final seconds of a victory against Northern Kentucky.
The 6-foot-9 sophomore has recorded at least 12 points, six rebounds and six blocks in five of the last 10 games.
Honorable mentions: Dikembe Dixson, UIC; Tre Demps, Northwestern
Freshman of the Week
Dikembe Dixson, UIC
Dixson averaged 23.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and three assists in a pair of UIC’s wins. Although he struggled from the field in a win against Northern Kentucky, he dominated with 9-of-16 shooting when the Flames defeated Wright State.
Dixson is starting to run away with Horizon League Freshman of the Year. He is averaging 18.1 points per game.
Honorable mention: Eli Cain, DePaul
Team of the Week
UIC
A couple of weeks ago, UIC was winless against Division I competition. Now the Flames have won three of their last four games, providing a glimpse of the potential first-year coach Steve McClain’s program has to offer.
Game of the Week
Evansville 74, Loyola 73
This game featured just about everything you want in a great basketball game: a dominant individual performance, a huge comeback and a wacky ending.
Evansville center Egidijus Mockevicius dropped 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks on Loyola, although more active defense limited the big man’s touches in the second half.
Loyola erased a 19-point deficit and took a 73-72 lead in the final minute. Then D.J. Balentine hit the game-winner for Evansville with 10.8 seconds left.
Past awards:
