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Player of the Week: Jake Odum guides Indiana State into MVC lead

Jake Odum

Indiana State guard Jake Odum is congratulated by fans after Indiana State defeated Creighton 76-57 in an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, in Terre Haute, Ind. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

AP

Player of the Week: Jake Odum, Indiana State

Jake Odum put Indiana State into serious contention for an at-large bid this week. On Wednesday, he put together one of his best games of the season, as he went for 22 points, five assists and four boards as the Sycamores walloped Creighton by 19 points. He followed that up with 13 points, five assists, four steals and the game-winning layup with 19 seconds left to avoid an upset at the hands of Southern Illinois on Saturday.

This week was massive for ISU for two reasons: beating Creighton only solidifies a solid NCAA tournament profile that could very well earn them an at-large berth. But, thanks to Wichita State’s three-game losing streak and Creighton dropping a home game to Illinois State on Saturday night, the Sycamores are now tied for first place in the Valley with just five league games remaining. Who predicted that in October?

The All-They-Were-Good-Too Team:

G: Nate Wolters, South Dakota State: Wolters exploded for 53 points in a win over IUPUI on Thursday night, the most points scored by a player this season. He followed that up with 36 points, six boards and seven assists against Oakland on Saturday, but the Jackrabbits ended up losing that game on the road. For the week, Wolters averaged 44.5 points while shooting 29-48 (60.4%) from the field and 12-23 (52.8%) from three.

G: Tyler Brown, Illinois State: All of a sudden, Illinois State is back from the dead, having won six of their last seven games to put themselves in the conversation for the MVC tournament. This week, the Redbirds knocked off Drake and Creighton on the road. In the two games, Brown averaged 26.0 points, 7.0 assists, 3.5 boards and 2.5 steals.

G: Geron Johnson, Memphis: Johnson broke out of his slump in a big way this week, leading the Tigers to win at SMU and Southern Miss, which opened up a two-game lead in the Conference USA race. Johnson averaged 22.0 points, 7.5 boards and 4.5 assists for the week, shooting 14-24 (58.3%) from the floor and 9-16 (56.3%) from three.

F: CJ Fair, Syracuse: James Southerland’s return may have been the biggest news of the week for the Orange, but it overshadowed something else: Fair put together a terrific week, averaging 17.5 points and 9.5 boards in dominating wins over Notre Dame and St. John’s. Fair has quietly put together an outstanding season for Jim Boeheim and appears to finally be having the breakout season so many of us expected for so long.

C: Mason Plumlee, Duke: Plumlee must have been getting frustrated seeing other names pass him on the Player of the Year ballots, because he decided to show up this week. After going for 30 points, nine boards and two blocks in a dominating win over NC State on Wednesday, Plumlee followed that up with 19 points, 10 boards and two blocks -- including the game-tying and game-winning free throws -- against Boston College.

Bench: Travis Bader (Oakland), Ben Brust (Wisconsin), Allen Crabbe (Cal), Shane Larkin (Miami), Greg Smith (Colorado State), Joel Smith (Northeastern), Taylor Smith (Stephen F. Austin), Isaiah Sykes (UCF), Chaz Williams (UMass)

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.