Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round) on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 66, to, 73
Final Score
Men's Basketball
66
vs No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round)
73
The University of Utah Athletics
Nevill And Whipple Earn MWC Player Of The Week Awards
1/5/2009 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2009
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Senior Luke Nevill and junior Kalee Whipple have been named the Mountain West Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Players of the Week, the league office announced Monday. Nevill's award was his second straight and third of the season, while it is Whipple's first honor.
A 7-foot-2 center from Perth, Australia, Nevill led the Runnin' Utes to two victories last week, including an upset win over No. 16/17 Gonzaga (66-65). The victory marked the program's first win over a ranked opponent since 2005. Utah also defeated Wyoming (91-67) to open conference play.
Against Gonzaga, Nevill posted a game-high 15 points and grabbed a team-best tying eight rebounds. He shot 4-for-7 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the free throw line, while also blocking three shots.
Against Wyoming, Nevill tied his career high for points (29), while grabbing 13 rebounds for his third double-double in four games and seventh overall on the season. He also tallied a career-best five blocks, while dishing out two assists. Nevill's 11 field goals vs. the Cowboys also tied a career-high.
On the week, Nevill averaged 22.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 65.2 percent (15-for-23) from the floor and 73.7 percent (14-for-19) from the charity stripe.
Nevill is the only player to receive multiple MWC Player of the Week awards this year.
Whipple, from Hiko, Nev., played an integral role in Utah's two wins last week against Southern California (87-77) and Norfolk State (79-40). She scored a career-high 31 points against USC, going 11-for-18 from the field and posting season-highs in field goal (.611) and three-point field goal (.455) percentage. She was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line, stepping up to take all four free throws in the final four minutes of the game. Whipple also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out four assists and had three steals.
Against Norfolk State, she added 14 points on 6-for-10 (.600) shooting, including 2-of-3 (.667) from three-point range. She also posted six rebounds, four assists, one block and four steals in just 26 minutes of play.
This marks Whipple's first weekly honor of the season. She is the second Utah player to be honored this season. Morgan Warburton was named the Player of the Week back on Nov. 24.
The Utah men are back in action Tuesday night against LSU at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. MT. The Utah women open their conference campaign at Wyoming on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 7:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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