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Player of the Week: Donovan Mitchell, Louisville

Pittsburgh v Louisville

LOUISVILLE, KY - JANUARY 11: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Louisville Cardinals shoots the ball during the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at KFC YUM! Center on January 11, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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This week capped off a stretch where Donovan Mitchell has been on a tear.

He’s hit for at least 15 points in eight of his last nine games, going for 20 in five and 25 in three of those nine. Over the last seven games, Mitchell, who has been somewhat inconsistent shooting the ball this season, is 24-for-47 (51.1%) from beyond the arc.

This past week was as dominant as he’s been this season. Mitchell had 29 points in the 55-point win the Cardinals landed over Pitt, following that up with 28 points and some suffocating defense on Dennis Smith Jr. as Louisville picked off N.C. State. He was 12-for-18 from three in those two games, and is now shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc on the season.

It’s also probably worth noting that, in two games where the Cards were mostly playing without their two point guards Tony Hicks and Quentin Snider, Mitchell averaged 4.0 assists.

As a team, Louisville has now made 24 threes in their last two games and is shooting 35.9 percent from beyond the arc. For a team whose biggest concern is perimeter shooting, that’s starting to look less and less concerning.

THEY WERE GOOD, TOO


  • Trevon Bluiett, Xavier: Bluiett popped off for 40 points on 15 shots in a close loss at Cincinnati, following that up with 21 points and 10 boards as the Musketeers went into Madison Square Garden and knocked off St. John’s.
  • Josh Jackson, Kansas: The Jayhawks lost at West Virginia to start the week, but it was the 22 points from Josh Jackson that kept Kansas within striking distance for most of the game. Then on Saturday, he was the best player on the floor as Kansas went into Rupp Arena and picked off Kentucky, finishing with 20 points, 10 boards, three assists, two steals and the biggest bucket of the game down the stretch.
  • Andrew White III, Syracuse: In the biggest week of the season for the Orange, White was the best player on the floor, averaging 26.5 points in wins over Miami and Florida State that have given the Syracuse some hope of getting an at-large bid.
  • Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech: Okogie had 35 points and 14 boards on Wednesday night, helping lead the Yellow Jackets to a blowout win over then-No. 6 Florida State in Atlanta. They would follow that win up by knocking off then-No. 14 Notre Dame on Saturday.
  • Esa Ahmad, West Virginia: Ahmad torched No. 2 Kansas on Tuesday night, popping off for 27 points as the Mountaineers landed their second massive win over a top two team at home this season.