Baylor junior guard Manu Lecomte has been voted Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Men’s Basketball co-Player of the Week for the first time, the league office announced Monday.
Lecomte’s award follows Johnathan Motley’s recognition last week and extends Baylor’s streak to six consecutive seasons with multiple Big 12 Player of the Week honors. The Bears have had 18 different players honored 31 total times, and 16 of those 31 awards have come in the last six seasons.
Lecomte was previously recognized as Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 14. He is the fourth player in program history to earn both Big 12 Newcomer and Player of the Week honors in the same season, joining Terry Black (2000), Ekpe Udoh (2010) and Kenny Chery (2014).
A Brussels, Belgium, native, Lecomte averaged 16.5 points, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 28.0 minutes per game while leading Baylor to wins over No. 7 Xavier and Sam Houston State. Those victories brought Baylor’s season record to 8-0 for the sixth time in program history.
Lecomte scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range, in Saturday’s win over No. 7 Xavier. His six 3-pointers made were the most by any Big 12 player this season, and he added five assists and two steals to lead Baylor to its third win over a top-10 opponent this season. His 24 points topped his previous career best of 23 scored in a win at Duke while playing for Miami in 2014-15.
BU trailed Xavier by three points at the half, but Lecomte scored 15 points and added four assists after the break to help the Bears out-score the Musketeers 45-27 over the final 20 minutes. It was the fourth time this season the Bears have overcome a halftime deficit, including three times in win over ranked teams.
In Wednesday’s win over Sam Houston State, Lecomte had nine points, two assists, one block and one steal in 25 minutes. For the week, Lecomte shot .556 from the field (10-of-18) and .615 from 3-point range (8-of-13).
Lecomte shared the Big 12 Player of the Week honor with Oklahoma State’s Jawun Evans. Texas Tech’s Anthony Livingston was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.
Lecomte currently ranks third in the Big 12 with 5.3 assists per game, fourth in free throw percentage at .800, sixth with 2.1 3-pointers made per game, eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.5, 10th in 3-point percentage at .395 and 11th in scoring with 13.9 points per game. He also ranks second in the league with a 33.2 assist rate, according to KenPom.com.
Also on Monday, Baylor climbed from No. 9 to No. 4 in the AP Top 25, earning the second-highest ranking in program history behind the No. 3 ranking on Jan. 16, 2012. The Bears picked up a school-record six first-place votes.
Baylor has a 10-day break for final exams before returning to action with four non-conference games in an eight-day stretch before opening Big 12 play on Dec. 30 at Oklahoma. The Bears host Southern on Dec. 14, travel to Fort Hood to face Jackson State on Dec. 17, and then host John Brown on Dec. 18 and Texas Southern on Dec. 21.
2017 BIG 12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Nov. 14 – Frank Mason, Kansas
Nov. 21 – Monte Morris, Iowa State
Nov. 28 – Johnathan Motley, Baylor
Dec. 5 – Manu Lecomte, Baylor; Jawun Evans, Oklahoma State
2017 BIG 12 NEWCOMERS OF THE WEEK
Nov. 14 – Manu Lecomte, Baylor; Jaylen Fisher, TCU
Nov. 21 – Josh Jackson, Kansas
Nov. 28 – Josh Jackson, Kansas
Dec. 5 – Anthony Livingston, Texas Tech
BAYLOR BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOREES
1997 – Patrick Hunter (2/17)
1998 – Patrick Hunter (1/4)
1998 – Brian Skinner (1/11)
1999 – Kish?Lewis (11/24)
2000 – Terry Black (1/3)
2001 – Terry Black (2/19)
2003 – Lawrence Roberts (2/17)
2008 – Curtis Jerrells (11/19)
2008 – Kevin Rogers (12/24)
2008 – Curtis Jerrells (1/28)
2008 – Kevin Rogers (3/3)
2010 – LaceDarius Dunn (11/16)
2010 – LaceDarius Dunn (1/4)
2010 – Ekpe Udoh (1/11)
2010 – LaceDarius Dunn (2/15)
2012 – Perry Jones?III?(12/19)
2012 – Perry Jones III?(1/16)
2013 – Cory?Jefferson (11/12)
2013 – Pierre Jackson (1/28)
2013 – Pierre Jackson (3/10)
2014 – Cory Jefferson (12/2)
2014 – Isaiah Austin (2/17)
2014 – Cory Jefferson (2/24)
2014 – Kenny Chery (3/9)
2015 – Rico Gathers (1/26)
2015 – Rico Gathers (2/9)
2016 – Rico Gathers (11/16)
2016 – Taurean Prince (12/7)
2016 – Johnathan Motley (2/22)
2017 – Johnathan Motley (11/28)
2017 – Manu Lecomte (12/5)
