PULLMAN, Wash. – For the second time this season and second time in program history, Washington State men's basketball swept the weekly media awards with senior
Isaac Jones and redshirt-freshman
Myles Rice earning Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, the Pac-12 Conference announced Monday afternoon. Rice becomes the first freshman since the inception of the award in 2019-20 to win four-consecutive honors, and ties the Conference record with seven total awards, matching Evan Mobley's seven in 2020-21.
Washington State is the only school in Pac-12 history to sweep the weekly awards twice in one season, and Rice and Jones become the only duo with multiple weekly sweeps. Jones earned his second Pac-12 Player of the Week honor, leading the Cougs with 21 points and nine rebounds in the win over Cal, Thursday night.
Jones scored in double figures in both Wazzu wins this weekend, surpassing 1,000 career points in Saturday's win over Stanford. Jones became the first Coug since CJ Elleby to eclipse 1,000 points, the 39th all-time Coug, having done so in brutally efficient fashion, averaging 17.7 points over 57 games on 60% field goal shooting. The fifth-year senior has scored 10+ points in all but two games this season and led the Cougs with a 14 of 19 clip over the weekend (73.7%). Jones also finished 8 of 11 from the free throw line, added three steals and four assists, while averaging 7.0 rebounds per game with 14 total rebounds.
Rice guided WSU to its third-consecutive weekend sweep, scoring 25 points in a Thursday win over Cal, followed by 14 points in the win against Stanford, extending the Cougs' winning streak to seven games. Rice tallied his sixth 20-point game of the year in the win versus Cal, becoming the first Cougar freshman since C.J. Elleby in 2018 to record back-to-back 20-point games. In Thursday's game, Rice finished 3 of 4 from 3-point range, 4 of 4 from the charity stripe, and 56% from the floor, adding three steals, five rebounds, and two assists.
Saturday, Rice added another unblemished trip to the free throw line, adding five assists for the 10th time this season. Over the weekend, Rice moved to second all-time in WSU freshman steals history, fifth in made free throws, sixth in freshman season assists. The Columbia, S.C. freshman is the only high-major freshman leading his team in scoring, assists, and steals.
Washington State hits the road for its final trip of the regular season, facing No. 4 Arizona, Thursday, Feb. 22 at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. Tip off is scheduled for 9 p.m. MT, 8 p.m. PT.
