City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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Jordan Price of La Salle and Villanova’s Josh Hart shared this week’s Big 5 Player of the Week honors, as both players were essential in weekend victories for their respective teams against ranked opponents.

Price averaged 19 points per game last week, scoring 21 in a loss to Fordham and following it up with 17 points in the Explorers’ upset of then-No. 25 Dayton on Saturday. The junior added eight rebounds in the victory and also played 38 minutes for an undermanned La Salle side.

At the end of the weekend, Price was 13th in the nation in scoring, averaging 22.2 points per game. That mark is currently second in the Atlantic 10 behind only Davidson’s Jack Gibbs (23.9 ppg).

Meanwhile, Hart averaged 18.5 points per game in the Wildcats’ pair of Big East wins last week. The junior had 15 points and 10 rebounds as Villanova grinded out a home win against Seton Hall on Wednesday. Hart followed that up with one of his best showings of the season.

He scored 22 points as the Wildcats won on the road at then-No. 18 Butler on Sunday night. Hart went 10-for-15 from the field and had another double-double with 11 rebounds. With 15.9 points per game, Hart leads Villanova in scoring this season.