DALLAS – Following an Old Dominion victory royale over No. 25 Syracuse, Monarch captain B.J. Stith collected his third-consecutive Conference USA Player of the Week honor. It is only the second time in conference history that a student-athlete has claimed the C-USA Player of the Week award three-straight times. Old Dominion legend Trey Freeman was the first back in 2016. Rice guard Chris Mullins nabbed the weekly freshman accolade behind a pair of 20+ point efforts. All C-USA weekly awards are presented by Top of the World. Awards are chosen by a vote from a media panel representing the 14 member schools.
 
Player of the Week
B.J. Stith, Old Dominion
RS-Senior, 6-5, 205, G, Lawrenceville, Va.
Stith’s 18 second-half points at No. 25 Syracuse lifted Old Dominion to a 68-62 victory over the Orange on Saturday afternoon. His second-half point burst complemented 10 rebounds (third-consecutive double-double), two assists and one steal for the contest. With his 18 points, Stith landed exactly on 1,000 points for his collegiate career. Saturday marked the Monarchs’ first win over a ranked team since Nov. 19, 2014, when ODU defeated No. 14 VCU, 73-67. Saturday also marked Old Dominion’s first road win over a ranked team since Dec. 19, 2009, when the Monarchs were too much for No. 11 Georgetown, 61-57. Stith now has the Monarchs on a six-game winning-streak. It is the third-straight C-USA weekly award in Stith’s decorated career, making him the second player in league history to accomplish the feat along with fellow Monarch, Trey Freeman (Jan. 26, Feb. 1 and Feb. 8, 2016).  

Freshman of the Week
Chris Mullins, Rice
Freshman, 6-3, 170, G, Grand Prairie, Texas
Mullins led Rice to a 1-1 record on the week. Against St. Edwards, the freshman scored a career-high 24 points, including 14 in the second half, with two steals. With Rice trailing 73-71 with less than two minutes to play, Mullins stole the ball at half court and drove in for a layup to tie the game. He then gave Rice the lead for good with a pair of free throws as the Owls scored the final seven points of the game. Mullins followed with 21 points, a career-high four rebounds and two steals against UC Santa Barbara. His two free throws with 30 seconds left tied the game and sent it into overtime. Mullins became the first Rice freshman to score 20 points in consecutive games since Marcus Evans in 2015-16. On the week, he averaged 22.5 points, shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the floor, 50 percent (4-of-8) from the arc and 83.3 percent (15-of-18) from the stripe. It is the third C-USA weekly award in Mullins’s career.