Simmons, Briscoe earn Men's Basketball weekly honors

SEC Player of the Week - LSU's Ben Simmons, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound freshman forward from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, averaged 29 points 16 rebounds, 5.5 assists, three steals and two blocks per game last week in games at College of Charleston and against North Florida. Against UNF, Simmons scored 43 points on 75 percent (15-of-20) shooting from the field to go with 14 rebounds, seven assists and five steals to lead the Tigers to a 119-108 win. The 43 points scored is the most by an SEC player since Arkansas' Rotnei Clarke had 51 against Alcorn State on Nov. 13, 2009. It is the most by an SEC freshman since Tennessee's Allan Houston had 43 points against LSU on Feb. 10, 1990. Simmons is the fourth freshman in past 20 years with 40 points-10 rebounds in a game and first major college player to have a game of 40-10-5-5 in last 20 years. Simmons started the week with a 15-point, 18-rebound effort at College of Charleston.

SEC Freshman of the Week - Kentucky's Isaiah Briscoe, a 6-foot-3, 202-pound guard from Union, N.J., averaged 19 points, 4.5 rebounds and two assists against Illinois State and UCLA. Against Illinois State, Briscoe took over the reins of point guard with Tyler Ulis absent from the game with a hyperextended elbow. Briscoe was 7 of 13 from the field en route to a career-high 18-point performance to lead the Wildcats. He also dished out a team-high three assists and hauled in seven rebounds, which was the second most of any player on the team. Playing in the first true road game of his career, Briscoe was a team-best 7 of 10 from the field to top his previous career high this time with 20 points.