The Associated Press national player of the week in men’s college basketball for Week 18 of the season:
Alex Condon, Florida
The sophomore forward from Perth, Australia, averaged 22.0 points and 12.5 rebounds as the fourth-ranked Gators beat No. 5 Alabama and Mississippi last week. Condon had 27 points and 10 rebounds in the 99-94 win over the Crimson Tide, then had 17 points and 15 rebounds in only 23 minutes in the win over the Rebels.
Condon sprained his ankle last month but has been on a tear in his four games since returning, scoring nine points in 21 minutes against Georgia and 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting against Texas A&M. Then came the big games against Alabama and Ole Miss, a pair of wins that sent the No. 4 Gators into the SEC Tournament on a three-game winning streak.
Florida is seeded second in Nashville and will play a quarterfinal against Missouri, Mississippi State or LSU on Friday.
Runner-up
Markus Burton, Notre Dame. The junior guard set a school record for an ACC game when he scored 43 points to go with five assists, three steals and three rebounds in a quadruple-overtime win over California last week. Twenty-one of his points came during the four OT periods. Burton also had 24 points and seven boards in a win over Stanford, raising his scoring average to 22.2 points — third-best in Division I men’s basketball this season.
The junior guard had 43 points — a school record for an ACC game — along with five assists, three steals and three rebounds in a 112-110 quadruple-overtime win over California last weekend. Twenty-one of the points came in the four OT periods. He also had 24 points and seven boards in a win over Stanford. Burton is third nationally in scoring at 22.2 points per game.
Honorable mention
JT Toppin, Texas Tech; Treysen Eaglesaff, North Dakota; Atin Wright, North Texas.
Keep an eye on
Taelon Peter, Liberty. The senior guard, who played three seasons at Arkansas Tech, had 33 points, six rebounds and three steals in a win at Middle Tennessee, then had 21 points and nine boards in a win at Western Kentucky. The pair of wins helped Liberty finish 16-2 in Conference USA and earn the No. 1 seed for its tournament in a tiebreaker over Middle Tennessee. The Flames are 23-6 overall and will warrant at-large NCAA Tournament consideration even with a loss in their tourney this week.
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The Associated Press
