The Pac-12 named Utes senior guard Justin Bibbins its men’s basketball player of the week on Monday afternoon. He’s the program’s first weekly conference honoree since Jakob Poeltl in February 2016.
Bibbins, a 5-foot-8 graduate transfer who began his college career at Long Beach State, became the first Utah player this season to record back-to-back double-doubles this past week in wins over Washington and Washington State. He averaged 16.5 points, 8.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds while he shot 50 percent from the field.
The native of Carson, Calif., scored 20 points, made 4-of-9 3-pointers, pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out five assists in a 70-62 win over the Huskies on Thursday. He became the shortest major conference player with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists according to STATS LLC.
Bibbins recorded a double-double on Sunday night with 13 points and a season-high 12 assists in an 82-69 win against the Cougars. That made him the first Utah player since Brandon Taylor to register 10 assists or more in a game. Taylor dished out 10 assists against USC in February 2016.
Through 19 games, Bibbins leads the team in scoring (14.2 ppg), assists (5.1 per game) and 3-point shooting (46.4 percent). He has shot 49.7 percent from the field.
Since the start of conference play, he has averaged 17.1 points per game (sixth-best in Pac-12) and ranks among leaders in assists (third, 5.9 per game), free throw shooting (fifth, 89.3 percent), 3-pointers made (first, 3.5 per game), 3-point field goal shooting (sixth, 46.7 percent) and assist-turnover ratio (third, 2.9-1).
