Every week for the 2016-17 season, The Catch and Shoot will name a Player of the Week, Freshman of the Week, Team of the Week and Game of the Week among the five Division I schools in the Chicago area.
Here are the winners for the 1st week of the season (Nov. 11-Nov. 20):
Player of the Week
Milton Doyle, Loyola
The senior guard averaged 14.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists in Loyola’s first five games. Entering Monday, he was in the top 25 nationally for assist rate. In Saturday’s win against Oral Roberts, Doyle dished out eight dimes, his most since last December.
Doyle is also shooting the ball well from deep to start the season at 38.1%.
Honorable mentions: Vic Law, Northwestern; Dikembe Dixson, UIC
Freshman of the Week
Marcus Ottey, UIC
Ottey was average in UIC’s opener at San Francisco but bounced back with 15 points in the home opener against UTSA. The Canada product shot 9-of-10 at the line and 3-of-4 from the field, and also tallied two assists.
Honorable mentions: Godwin Boahen, UIC
Team of the Week
UIC
The Flames were favored against a Division I opponent for the first time ever under Steve McClain, and they delivered with an 86-78 win against UTSA in the home opener. UIC followed that with an easy victory against Trinity Christian.
At 2-1 (albeit with one win against a non-Division I team), UIC has a winning record for the first time since the end of the 2012-13 season.
Game of the Week
Butler 70, Northwestern 68
For the second time in three years, Northwestern played Butler close in Hinkle Fieldhouse. But once again, the Wildcats came up short as freshman Kamar Baldwin drained a last-second shot for the Bulldogs.
