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. 22.
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:
Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas (SEC)
Acuff Jr., a 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Detroit, Mich., averaged 34.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and a steal as the Hogs won at No. 25 Alabama and over Missouri. Acuff scored 49 points in the 115-117 double overtime loss at Alabama, scoring the most points by a freshman against a Top 25 team in NCAA history that included a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Playing all 50 minutes, he also dished out five assists and only had one turnover while shooting 16-of-27 (59.3 percent) from the field, 6-of-10 (60.0 percent) from 3-point range and 11-of-12 (91.7 percent) from the free throw stripe. His 49 points also marked the most points by an Arkansas player in an SEC game and the most by a John Calipari-coached player. Acuff followed that up with 20 points and five assists without a turnover against Missouri, an eighth consecutive 20-point outing. Acuff becomes the SEC's first player to earn the Player of the Week honor eight times in a single season. The big week put Acuff into the SEC lead in scoring average (22.19 ppg) and he continues to lead the league in assists (6.19 apg).
AJ Dybantsa, BYU (Big 12)
Dybantsa, a 6-9 freshman from Brockton, Mass., averaged 32.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in a pair of games against ranked opposition, playing all but 45 seconds of the two contests. Against then-No. 4 Arizona, the freshman phenom scored 35 points, the fifth-most by a BYU player against a top-25 opponent since 1996. He came one assist short of a triple-double against then-No. 6 Iowa State, adding 29 points and 10 rebounds in the 79-69 win. Dybantsa is the nation’s leading scorer at 24.9 points per game, and only trails Trae Young, Michael Beasley, Kevin Durant and Buddy Hield in Big 12 single-season scoring average. This is Dybantsa's second Big 12 Player of the Week nod.
Josiah Davis, CSUN (The Big West)
Davis, a 6-3 senior guard from Kitchener, Ontario, averaged 26.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game in two road wins to earn his first Player of the Week honor from The Big West. Davis scored a career-high 31 points with 14 rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block to propel CSUN (18-10, first in The Big West at 11-5) to an 85-83 overtime victory at UC Santa Barbara, last Thursday. He then logged 21 points, three rebounds, nine assists and a steal as the Matadors defeated Long Beach State 78-76 on Saturday. Davis is currently averaging 14.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and a conference-leading and national fourth-best 7.2 assists per game.
Orlando Lovejoy, Detroit Mercy (Horizon League)
Lovejoy, a 6-3 senior guard from Detroit, Mich., averaged 28.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game during Detroit Mercy's 2-0 week with wins over Milwaukee and Green Bay. Lovejoy shot 53.6 percent from the floor and and 95.5 percent at the free throw line, including a career-high 33 points against Green Bay.
Chance Westry, UAB (American)
Westry, a 6-6 sophomore guard from Harrisburg, Pa., earns the USBWA nod following UAB's 2-0 week on the road at Temple and Memphis to stay undefeated (8-0) on the road in conference play. Westry scored 24 points, had eight assists, and grabbed three rebounds against Temple. He followed that performance with 23 points, six assists and five steals against Memphis, leading the Blazers to their first win at Memphis since 1999. He made 16 free throws on the week. Westry is averaging 15.2 points, 4.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game this season.
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.
• Week ending Feb. 22: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas; AJ Dybantsa, BYU; Josiah Davis, CSUN; Orlando Lovejoy, Detroit Mercy; Chance Westry, UAB.