Mustangs Climb to No. 12/15; Brown, Ojeleye Earn AAC Honors

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From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Climb to No. 12/15; Brown, Ojeleye Earn Weekly Conference Honors
SMU Ranked No. 12 in AP, 15 in Coaches Poll; Brown Earns Second AAC Player Of The Week Honor This Season

DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU men's basketball team climbed to No. 12 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll after clinching the outright American Athletic Conference title with a 103-62 victory over Memphis on Saturday. Sterling Brown was named The American Player of the Week and Semi Ojeleye was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll for their performances in SMU's wins over Tulsa and Memphis.

No. 12/15 SMU is 27-4 overall (17-1 AAC), has won 13 straight and 23 of its last 24 games. The Mustangs have held 22 of their last 24 opponents to 66 points or less. SMU averaged 75.0 points in that span, while holding opponents to 57.7 per game (+17.3 scoring margin) and 37.7 percent from the field. For the season, SMU ranks third in the nation in scoring defense (59.4), eighth in field goal defense (38.5) and third in rebound margin (+9.8.).

Brown averaged 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals to earn his second Player of the Week honor this season. The senior scored 19 points (5-9 FG, 4-7 3FG, 5-6 FT) against Tulsa to reach 1,000 career points. He led the Mustangs with four assists and two steals, while adding three rebounds. Brown followed the performance with game highs of 26 points (9-13 FG, 4-8 3FG, 4-5 FT) and 10 rebounds in the 103-62 win over Memphis. This is his third weekly conference honor this season, including an honor roll on Jan. 2.

Ojeleye was named to the Weekly Honor Roll for the sixth time this season after averaging 22.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He scored 26 points (9-9 FG, 3-3 3FG, 5-7 FT) with four rebounds in the 93-70 win over Tulsa. He also had a block and a steal. The junior posted 19 points (5-6 FG, 3-4 3FG, 6-7 FT), six rebounds and three assists against Memphis. The Ottawa, Kan., native shot 93.3 percent from the field (14-of-15), 85.7 percent from the three-point line (6-of-7) and 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the free-throw line. This marks his eighth conference weekly honor this season, including two Player of the Week honors (Nov. 14, Feb. 13).

Top-seeded SMU will play the winner of No. 8 Temple/No. 9 East Carolina in the AAC quarterfinals Friday at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. (TV: ESPN2, Radio: KAAM 770, TuneIn).