Utah's Poeltl earns first Pac-12 weekly honor

SAN FRANCISCO - Coming off a career-best performance in his Puerto Rico Tip-Off finale, UTAH sophomore Jakob Poeltl has earned his first Pac-12 Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week award as voted upon by media who cover the conference.

In four games last week, the 7-0 forward/center from Vienna, Austria nearly averaged a double-double with 19.5 points on 64 percent shooting and 9.5 rebounds as Utah posted a trio of victories.

Poeltl recorded a pair of double-doubles, first a 15-point, 11-rebound effort in a victory over preseason Mountain West favorite San Diego State on Monday.  He narrowly missed another double-double with 15 points and nine boards in Thursday’s Puerto Rico Tip-Off opening victory against Texas Tech, and added 16 points and six caroms in the semifinals against eventual tourney champion Miami (Fla.).

The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year nominee provided his best performance on Sunday against Temple, pumping in a career-high 32 points (10-12 FG, 12-14 FT) along with 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals to lead the Utes to victory and third place.

Utah is idle until Friday, Nov. 27 when it hosts Idaho State at 6:00 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Networks.

Seven Pac-12 programs will be competing in holiday tournaments this week: No. 11 ARIZONA in the Wooden Legacy (Fullerton/Anaheim, Calif.), ARIZONA STATE in the Legends Classic (Brooklyn, N.Y.), No. 14 CALIFORNIA in the Las Vegas Invitational, STANFORD in the NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.), UCLA in the Maui Invitational, USC in the Advocare Invitational (Orlando, Fla.) and WASHINGTON in the Battle for Atlantis (Bahamas).

For more information, including a full television schedule, visit www.pac-12.com.

Also Nominated: Gabe York, ARIZ; Gerry Blakes, ASU; Tyrone Wallace, CAL; Josh Scott, COLO; Dillon Brooks, ORE; Gary Payton II, OSU; Tony Parker, UCLA; Jordan McLaughlin, USC; Marquese Chriss, WASH; Josh Hawkinson, WSU.

2015-16 PAC-12 MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK