Honor Huff Named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week
January 12, 2026 03:03 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — BYU's Richie Saunders (player) and West Virginia's Honor Huff (newcomer) captured Big 12 men's basketball weekly awards for their performances to lead their teams to 2-0 weeks.
Saunders averaged 27.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists, helping the Cougars tie their program record with their 12th consecutive win while ranked. The senior guard scored a career-high 31 points, going 10-of-13 from the field while adding eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in the 104-76 win over Arizona State. The Riverton, Utah native followed that with his second career 20+ point, 10+ rebound game in the 89-84 win at Utah, scoring 24 points and adding 14 rebounds. It is Saunders' third career Big 12 Player of the Week honor, and his first of the 2025-26 season.
Huff averaged 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds to help the Mountaineers to a pair of wins, including the program's first AP Top 25 victory under first-year head coach Ross Hodge. In the 62-60 win against Cincinnati, the Brooklyn, New York native poured in 24 points and added a career-high eight rebounds, as he scored five of WVU's last 10 points that erased a late five-point deficit. The senior guard who transferred from Chattanooga followed up with 23 points in the 86-75 win over No. 22 Kansas, adding another seven rebounds while making four 3-pointers. It is Huff's first Big 12 Newcomer of the Week selection.
Saunders and Huff were joined on the Big 12 Starting Five, which recognizes strong performances across the league, by Arizona State's Massamba Diop, Houston's Kingston Flemings and Kansas' Darryn Peterson. Diop had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Sun Devils to an 87-84 win against Kansas State, while producing 22 points and nine rebounds at BYU. Flemings scored 23 points and added five assists in the Cougars' 69-65 win over No. 14 Texas Tech, then added 10 points and seven assists in the 77-55 win at Baylor. Peterson made the clutch free throws with 1.4 seconds left to send the game into overtime against TCU, part of a 32-point performance in the 104-100 victory, then scored 23 at West Virginia.
Player: Richie Saunders, BYU
Newcomer: Honor Huff, West Virginia
Starting Five
Massamba Diop, Arizona State
Richie Saunders, BYU (player)
Kingston Flemings, Houston
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Honor Huff, West Virginia (newcomer)
