Arizona Freshman Koa Peat Sweeps Player Of the Week Awards

As the college basketball season tipped off last week, fans were treated to a whole host of exciting games filled with star players, but no star shone as bright as Arizona Wildcats freshman Koa Peat. The highly touted Wildcat recruit etched his name in U of A lore with back-to-back spectacular performances, which led to Peat sweeping both player of the week and freshman of the week honors for both the Big 12 conference and NCAA.

Peat Lights Up Gators In Debut

In the game that perhaps sealed Peat’s player of the week win, an argument could be made that the Wildcat freshman had the greatest debut in college basketball history. Peat stuffed the stat sheet in the Wildcats’ upset of the defending national champion Florida Gators, as he finished with 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists on a highly efficient 11-of-18 shooting from the floor.

All of those stats, mixed with the fact that it came against arguably the best front court in the nation in Florida, left fans thinking he would be drafted No. 1 overall.

Peat’s Encore Performance Against Utah Tech

Just four days after his monstrous debut, Peat wasted no time showing he could string together great performances. The Gilbert native scored 18 points to go along with 3 rebounds and 3 assists, while also shooting efficiently at 85% from the field yet again. While this performance was not as dominant as Peat’s debut game, it served as solid confirmation that Peat will still be a scoring force this season, regardless of the quality of the opponent.

Peat’s Overall Season

Through these first two games, Peat is averaging a team-leading 24 points per contest on a hyper-efficient 68% from the floor and also adding 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game, showcasing Peat’s all-around ability. While the Wildcat freshman has yet to attempt a three-pointer this season, fans should expect him to start dialing them up as the season progresses.

Expectations For Both Arizona and Peat Moving Forward

After upsetting Florida and beating up on a lowly Utah Tech squad, the road only gets tougher for Arizona and Peat from this point forward. The Wildcats will face Auburn, UConn, UCLA, Alabama, and San Diego State in their remaining non-conference schedule. If both Arizona and Peat play like they did against Florida last Monday night, then get that popcorn ready for these upcoming games.