The Utah Jazz made a big jump in Jeremy Woo's latest NBA Power Rankings for Sports Illustrated as they moved up to No. 4.
Of the Jazz, he wrote, "The Jazz have held opponents to 100 points or less in each of their last nine wins. In a season where so many teams are pushing the pace and jacking threes, it’s a remarkable feat. So, how seriously should we take them in the playoffs? If Utah can avoid further injury woes and stay the course, it’ll be fascinating to see how they hold up. Rudy Gobert’s got quite a case for Defensive Player of the Year."
John Schuhmann of nba.com also had the Jazz taking a step forward in his Power Rankings as they moved from No. 8 to No. 5.
After talking about Gordon Hayward's play recently, Schuhmann wrote, "They rank seventh offensively over the last month, with Hayward and George Hill combining to shoot 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range."
Eric Mika recognized for big win
Mitt Romney took to Twitter on Monday morning to congratulate his great-nephew Eric Mika on his play in BYU's upset win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Congrats to my great-nephew, @BYUCougars center Eric Mika, on his 29 points and the win Saturday vs. Gonzaga. https://t.co/QxT5tiwkdK
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) February 27, 2017
It wasn't the only recognition for Mika, who also earned the NCAA.com Player of the Week for his outstanding play.
Danny Ainge listed as best college basketball player from Oregon, Arnie Ferrin as best player from Utah
Nathaniel Reeves of Fansided ranked the top college basketball player from each state with a former Cougar and Ute both making the list.
Reeves had former BYU standout Danny Ainge as the best player from Oregon, saying, "Ainge averaged 21.9 points and 4.6 assists per contest for his career and set a then-NCAA record with 112 straight games in double-figures scoring. During a senior season in which he averaged 24.4 points per game, Ainge was named a first-team All-American and won the Wooden Award."
Ute legend Arnie Ferrin got the nod for Utah after helping the Utes to a national championship and an NIT title. After talking about how Ferrin ended up at Utah, Reeves wrote, "Ferrin led the most successful period in Utes history. Ferrin was named a four-time All-American, the only Utah player ever to do so, and became the first freshman ever to win a Final Four Most Outstanding Player award in 1944."