Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin and Christian Koloko were named national award finalists Tuesday, Mathurin for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and Koloko for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
Mathurin was one ofΒ five finalists for the Jerry West Award along with Ochai Agbaji (Kansas), Jaden Ivey (Purdue), Johnny Juzang (UCLA) and Johnny Davis (Wisconsin).
Koloko was one of 10 finalists for the Naismith Defensive POY, along with: forward Tari Eason of LSU, guard Jacob Gilyard of Richmond, center Chet Holmgren of Gonzaga, forward Walker Kessler of Auburn, guard Caleb McConnell of Rutgers, guard Kevin McCullar of Texas Tech, center Jamarion Sharp of Western Kentucky, forward Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky and center Mark Williams of Duke.
Mathurin is the second-leading scorer in the Pac-12, averaging 17.1 points while shooting 46.5% overall and 37.7% from 3-point range.
Koloko is the Pac-12's leading shot-blocker (2.93) and the league's fourth-leading rebounder (7.29) while also averaging 11.7 points.
