INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has named five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week for games of the week ending Sunday, Feb. 15.
For the 2025-26 season, the USBWA continues its national player of the week program that has been affiliated with the Oscar Robertson Trophy since the 2009-10 season. Prior to the 2024-25 season, the USBWA had recognized just one player each week.
Each Tuesday during the regular season, designated USBWA board members will select five standouts from the 31 Division I conference players of the week to be recognized. This week's selections were chosen from a list of the conferences that named a player of the week on Monday.
Following are the five players selected for performances this past week:
Nick Boyd, Wisconsin (Big Ten)
Boyd, a 6-3 guard from Garnerville, N.Y., averaged 27.0 points and 4.5 assists per game while leading Wisconsin to a pair of top-10 wins. He scored 25 points to go with five assists and no turnovers in the Badgers’ 92-90 overtime win at Illinois, then connected on 10-of-17 field goal attempts, including 5-of-7 from three-point range, for 29 points in a 92-71 victory over Michigan State. Boyd earned his second Big Ten Player of the Week award on Tuesday.
Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville (ACC)
Brown, a freshman guard from Orlando, Fla., averaged 37.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.0 steals in two wins over NC State and Baylor. The outstanding first-year player shot 59.5% from the floor and 66.7% beyond the arc, and also knocked down 16-of-16 free throws. In a 118-77 runaway win over NC State on Monday, Feb. 9, Brown scored 45 points, breaking the ACC single-game freshman scoring record previously set by Cooper Flagg as well as Louisville’s single-game freshman scoring record previously set by LaBradford Smith. The 45 points also tied Louisville’s overall single-game scoring record previously owned by Wes Unseld. Brown was 14-of-23 from the floor, including netting 10 shots from around the arc on 16 attempts, tying Louisville’s program record for most 3-pointers made in a game. Per CBS Sports research, Brown is the only freshman in the last 30 years to log 45 points, nine rebounds and three steals in a game. He followed up his record-setting night with 29 points on 8-of- 14 shooting, including 4-of-5 from long range, on Saturday against Baylor in a neutral site game. He tacked on six assists, five steals and three boards.
Graham Ike, Gonzaga (West Coast)
Ike, a senior forward from Aurora, Colo., recorded his sixth and seventh straight 20-point games, matching his career-best, in wins over Washington State and at Santa Clara last week. After scoring 20 points and grabbing seven rebounds against the Cougars, Ike boasted 21 points and 15 rebounds in the victory at Santa Clara. He shot 72 percent (18 of 25) from the field in the combined wins and added seven assists total and a block in both games. Ike has now won the WCC Player of the Week five times this season.
Darin Smith Jr., Central Connecticut (NEC)
The NEC’s first 40-point game of the season piloted Smith to his league-leading fifth Influxer/NEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week award this season. Thanks to that 40-point outing, the sophomore guard from Springfield, Mass., netted double figures in a fourth and fifth consecutive games, averaged 28.5 points on 48 percent shooting from the field (15-of-31) in last week's pair while adding 3.0 rpg. Smith was virtually unstoppable against New Haven on Thursday. Draining 13-of-20 shots, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc and each of his 11 free throw attempts, Smith racked up a career-high 40 points to guide the Blue Devils to an 81-76 victory over the Chargers. The 40-point outing was CCSU's first since 2013, and the first by an NEC player since 2024. Fourteen of the sophomore’s points came inside the first six minutes of the second half in a stretch that saw the Blue Devils push ahead by 15 points. Two days later, Smith visited the free throw line 13 times and made all of those attempts to finish with 17 points. Twelve of those free throws came inside the game’s final 3:10 to break what was a 47-47 tie. Smith leads the NEC in scoring at 20.3 points per game.
JT Toppin, Texas Tech (Big 12)
Toppin scored 31 points with 13 rebounds in Texas Tech's 78-75 overtime win at No. 1 Arizona. It marked the ninth game of 30+ points and 10+ rebounds of his Texas Tech career and only the second 30-10 performance against a No. 1-ranked team in Big 12 history. The junior from Dallas had 16 points with 18 rebounds in Wednesday’s 78-44 win over Colorado. The forward averaged 23.5 points and 15.5 rebounds to procure his fourth Big 12 Player of the Week selection of the season and sixth of his career.
Since the 1958-59 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and two-time USBWA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson. It is the nation's oldest award and the only one named after a former player.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership. The winner of the award will be announced at the 2026 Men's Final Four in Indianapolis, with the formal presentation to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 800 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and the Oscar Robertson Trophy, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
2025-26 USBWA Men's Weekly Honors
• Week ending Nov. 9: TJ Long, Vermont; Koa Peat, Arizona; Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama; Bruce Thornton, Ohio State; Caleb Wilson, North Carolina.
• Week ending Nov. 16: Cameron Boozer, Duke; Mikel Brown, Louisville; Kingston Flemings, Houston; Delrecco Gillespie, Kent State; Braden Smith, Purdue.
• Week ending Nov. 23: Michael Ajayi, Butler; David Coit, Maryland; MJ Collins Jr., Utah State; PJ Haggerty, Kansas State; Ethan Roberts, Penn.
• Week ending Nov. 30: Leo Beath, UC San Diego; Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State; Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan; Darin Smith, Central Connecticut; Nick Townsend, Yale.
• Week ending Dec. 7: Cameron Boozer, Duke; Tre Carroll, Xavier; Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Aidan Mahaney, UC Santa Barbara; Milan Momcilivic, Iowa State.
• Week ending Dec. 14: Myles Colvin Jr., Wake Forest; Melvin Council Jr., Kansas; Graham Ike, Gonzaga; Dennis Parker Jr., Radford; Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana.
• Week ending Dec. 21: Christian Anderson, Texas Tech; Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee; Braden Huff, Gonzaga; Paul McNeil, NC State; Stephon Payne, Seton Hall.
• Week ending Jan. 4: Rafael Castro, George Washington; Boopie Miller, SMU; Paulius Murauskas, St. Mary's; Kahlil Singleton, Canisius; Chase Walker, Illinois State.
• Week ending Jan. 11: Nick Boyd, Wisconsin; Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State; Richie Saunders, BYU; Braden Smith, Purdue; Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt.
• Week ending Jan. 18: John Blackwell, Wisconsin; Rueben Chinyelu, Florida; Diggy Coit, Maryland; RJ Johnson, Kennesaw State; Erik Platt, Stony Brook.
• Week ending Jan. 25: Dominique Daniels, California Baptist; Keyshawn Hall, Auburn; Jalen Quinn, Drake; JT Toppin, Texas Tech; Keaton Wagler, Illinois.
• Week ending Feb. 1: Brayden Burries, Arizona; Jeremy Fears, Michigan State; Alex Huibregtse, Bradley; Camren Hunter, Central Arkansas; Jordan Riley, East Carolina.
• Week ending Feb. 8: Dylan Andrews, Boise State; Marcus Banks Jr., Massachusetts; Quadir Copeland, NC State; Joel Foxwell, Portland; Bennett Stirtz, Iowa (Big Ten).
• Week ending Feb. 15: Nick Boyd, Wisconsin; Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville; Graham Ike, Gonzaga; Darin Smith Jr., Central Connecticut; JT Toppin, Texas Tech.