PROVIDENCE, R.I. (SMU/AAC) – SMU junior
Ben Emelogu II was named the American Athletic Conference Co-Sixth Man of the Year. Emelogu helped the No.12/15 Mustangs win the American Athletic Conference regular season championship after a 27-4 record including a 17-1 AAC mark. He shares the award with Jarron Cumberland of Cincinnati.
Emelogu played in all 31 games for the Mustangs and averaged 4.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and a 1.8 assist turnover ratio in 21.0 minutes off the bench. In conference play, the Grand Prairie, Texas, native averaged 4.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists, while shooting 37.8 percent from behind the three-point arc. Emelogu scored a season-high 13 against Houston (Jan. 21), before posting 11 points in the 60-51 win against then-No. 11/11 Cincinnati on Feb. 12. The junior started three games including at UCF (Jan. 25), where he played a career-high 37 minutes.
This is the third straight year an SMU player has won the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Markus Kennedy earned the honor the previous two seasons.
Top-seeded SMU plays in The American Championship quarterfinal round at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, on Friday at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT. The Mustangs will face the winner of Thursday's first-round matchup between No. 8 seed Temple and No. 9 seed East Carolina (TV: ESPN2, Radio: KAAM 770, TuneIn).
SMU Awards
Tim Jankovich
Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year (Semifinalist – 1 of 10)
USBWA District VII Coach of the Year
Semi Ojeleye
CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team
USBWA All-District VII Team
All-AAC First Team
Sterling Brown
All-AAC Second Team
Ben Moore
All-AAC Second Team
Shake Milton
All-AAC Second Team
Ben Emelogu II
AAC Sixth Man of the Year
