University of Arizona Athletic issued the following announcement on Mar. 11.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the 10 semifinalists for the 2022 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Men's Basketball Player of the Year on Friday and Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin was included on the list.
Mathurin, who hails from Montreal, is the ninth different Arizona player to be named Pac-12 Player of the Year and the first since Deandre Ayton in 2018. Overall, it's the 10th time that an Arizona has been named the conference's top player, which leads all Pac-12 schools. In Pac-12 play, Mathurin ranked second in scoring (17.25), sixth in 3-point field goals made per game (2.1), eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (38.5%), 12th in minutes played (31.98), 15th in assists (2.7) and 18th in rebounding (5.2). He has already been named a second team all-American by The Sporting News and College Hoops Today in addition to one of five finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and a finalist for the Wooden Award.
In the opening game of the Pac-12 Tournament, Mathurin scored 20 points – connecting on four triples – to help the Wildcats to a 84-80 win over Stanford. Top-seeded Arizona will take on No. 4 seed Colorado at 7:00 p.m. MST on Friday in Las Vegas.
2022 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Semifinalists
Full Name | Class | Pos. | College | Conference |
Ochai Agbaji | Sr. | G | Kansas | Big 12 |
Kofi Cockburn | Jr. | C | Illinois | Big Ten |
Johnny Davis | So. | G | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
Chet Holmgren | Fr. | C | Gonzaga | WCC |
E.J. Liddell | Jr. | F | Ohio State | Big Ten |
Bennedict Mathurin | So. | G | Arizona | Pac-12 |
Keegan Murray | So. | F | Iowa | Big Ten |
Jabari Smith | Fr. | F | Auburn | SEC |
Drew Timme | Jr. | F | Gonzaga | WCC |
Oscar Tshiebwe | Jr. | F | Kentucky | SEC |