The Associated Press national player of the week in men’s college basketball for Week 13 of the season:
The freshman guard from San Bernardino, California, had a career-high 29 points with five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in an 86-83 win over then-No. 13 BYU last Monday night. He followed up with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in an 87-74 victory over Arizona State that kept the Wildcats unbeaten at 22-0 this season.
Burries is averaging a team-best 15.3 points along with 4.5 rebounds while shooting better than 50% from the field.
Arizona has a light week with only a trip to Oklahoma State on deck this weekend. But then Burries and the top-ranked Wildcats have six of their next seven against teams ranked in the top 16 of this week's Top 25 poll. The stretch includes a pair against No. 11 Kansas along with matchups against No. 10 Houston, No. 16 BYU, No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 7 Iowa State.
JT Toppin, Texas Tech. After the All-American forward had 31 points and 12 rebounds in a 90-86 win over Houston the previous week, Toppin poured in 27 points and 10 boards in an 88-80 loss to UCF. Toppin is averaging 22.4 points and 10.9 boards, and he has scored at least 16 points in eight consecutive games.
Jeremy Fears Jr., No. 10 Michigan State; Richie Saunders, BYU; Alex Condon, No. 17 Florida.
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa. The transfer from Drake had 20 points, three rebounds and three steals in a 73-72 win over Southern California. Four days later, he poured in 32 points with seven assists in an 84-66 rout at Oregon. Stirtz played 78 of 80 minutes across the two games.
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Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) goes up to shoot against Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, left, Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr., right, and Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Arizona guard Brayden Burries, right, moves the ball as BYU forward Mihailo Boskovic (5) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
STAVELY, Alberta (AP) — Three Southern Alberta Mustangs junior hockey players were killed Monday in a vehicle crash while heading to practice.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it responded to the crash at an intersection with Highway 2 in Stavely — about an hour’s drive south of Calgary. JJ Wright and Cameron Casorso, both 18 and from Kamloops, British Columbia, and 17-year-old Caden Fine of Birmingham, Alabama, were killed.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, in a social media post, offered condolences to the players' families and teammates.
“The whole Alberta hockey family is standing with you in sorrow and in prayer,” Smith said. “In the days ahead, I know Albertans will wrap these families and this team in love and support as they navigate a pain no one should ever have to bear.”
RCMP said the crash involved a northbound semi truck pulling gravel and a small passenger vehicle going east. The driver of the semi, a 40-year-old man from Stavely, sustained minor injuries.
The U.S. Premier Hockey League team said on Facebook that it is working closely with authorities and is asking for privacy for the players' families.
“There are no words that can adequately express the depth of our grief," the team said. "These young men were more than hockey players — they were teammates, sons, brothers, friends, and deeply loved members of our Mustangs family and the communities we call home. We are a family, and today our family is hurting.”
At the town’s arena, three white-and-red jerseys with the last names of the players were draped over a table, along with three upright hockey sticks.
The Kamloops Minor Hockey Association said in a statement that Casorso and Wright grew up in the B.C. organization. Casorso played from 2012 to 2025 and Wright from 2011 to 2025.
“Although their journeys began here in Kamloops, they found a second hockey family and a new bond with the Southern Alberta Mustangs,” the statement said. “These three young men were teammates and friends to many. We are grieving together, as one hockey family forever changed by the loss of these young men.”
The Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League also offered support on social media: “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who knew them,” the team said.
News of the crash evoked memories of another deadly crash involving a junior hockey team.
In April 2018, 16 people were killed and 13 injured when a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League crashed. The team had been on its way to a playoff game when a semi truck went through a stop sign and into the path of the bus at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Saskatchewan.
The mayor of Humboldt expressed condolences to the Alberta team on Facebook.
“We stand with your community as you mourn this tragic loss, and our thoughts are with all those affected,” Mayor Rob Muench said.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Crossed hockey sticks are shown outside of the Stavely Arena in Stavely, Alberta, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (Larry MacDougal/The Canadian Press via AP)
