Bennedict Mathurin, right, is third on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game despite playing only 20.8 minutes per contest.

 Rebecca Sasnett / Arizona Daily Star

Despite a three-win week that put them squarely in the early Pac-12 men’s basketball race, Arizona didn’t quite get the Monday morning recognition it might have expected.

The Wildcats (9-1, 3-1) still remained outside the Associated Press Top 25 even as they landed at No. 21 in the NCAA’s first NET ratings, while Oregon’s Chris Duarte beat out Arizona’s Terrell Brown for Pac-12 Player of the Week.

But one of the Wildcats’ secrets is getting out: Wing Bennedict Mathurin was named the Pac-12’s Freshman of the Week, after leading Arizona to an 86-82 double-overtime win at WSU on Saturday with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Playing 38 minutes against the Cougars, Mathurin was forced to spend much of the time as an undersized power forward due to foul issues with all of UA’s big men, while he also came back to seal the win by hitting two clutch free throws with nine seconds left. Those gave UA a four-point edge and made WSU’s last possession all but meaningless.

Bennedict Mathurin (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Terrell Brown Jr. (15 points) react to Arizona's double-overtime win over Washington State in Pullman.Β 

β€œBig free throws at the end by Benn,” UA assistant coach Jason Terry said. β€œHuge. Huge.”

It was the kind of performance the Wildcats have been able to increasingly rely on from Mathurin, who has been coming off the bench behind Dalen Terry, and power forward Azuolas Tubelis, who took over the starting role from Christian Koloko on Dec. 22 against Montana.

β€œMan, they’re growing up fast,” said Brown, UA’s grad transfer guard. β€œThey’re 18 years old, they’re thrown in the fire, into the deep end, and they’re surviving. I’m proud of those guys.”

Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin is one of a group of young players β€œgrowing up fast,” according to transfer guard Terrell Brown. The Wildcats are in third place in the Pac-12 and are 9-1 overall.

Terry said UA coaches discussed as a staff that the team’s ultimate progress this season would depend on how well the freshmen develop. While the NCAA clearinghouse put Estonian guard Kerr Kriisa on the shelf until Feb. 6, the Wildcats have two starting freshmen already while Mathurin is behaving like a third.

β€œDalen has been starting, Azuolas has been thrust into the starting lineup and Benn has been playing quality minutes,” Terry said. β€œIn those minutes these guys have been very productive. That’s the thing you have to see. Even though they make mistakes β€” as you will when you’re a freshman β€” they played through those mistakes. They’ve stayed confident, they’ve trusted their training, and they produce very well.

β€œI mean, look at Benn. He stepped up, made two big free throws at the end. He hit big shots, and he’s playing efficiently. So we like where they’re at now in their development, and there’s so much more room for them to grow and develop.”

Mathurin’s week was a microcosm of the freshman trend Terry was speaking of. The Canadian wing started it a rough note, going scoreless and without a rebound while playing 12 minutes against Colorado on Dec. 28 at McKale, but returned to play key roles in UA’s wins over Washington and Washington State.

Against the Cougars, Mathurin also outproduced WSU forward Andrej Jakimovski, the only other player nominated for Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.

While Mathurin collected his 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds, Jakimovski had 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting and eight rebounds.

While UA also nominated Brown for Pac-12 Player of the Week, Duarte won the award after leading the Ducks to home wins over California and Stanford.

For the week, Duarte averaged 21.0 points while shooting 50% and collecting 4.5 rebounds while Brown averaged 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Brown shot 53.3% in the Wildcats’ three wins, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in the second overtime, and had 10 assists for the week against only two turnovers.

Meanwhile, Ducks remained the Pac-12’s only ranked team, at No. 17, while Arizona received the 31st-most points in voting. Colorado (32nd) and UCLA (39th) also picked up votes.

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