College Hoops

Mid-Major Madness Men’s Player of the Week: Arkansas State’s Izaiyah Nelson

Mid-Major Madness selected Arkansas State forward Izaiyah Nelson as the Men’s Mid-Major Player of the Week for Feb. 24-March 2 after recording a pair of double-doubles.

The race atop the Sun Belt Conference has been competitive all season long with Nelson leading a 2-0 week to help the Red Wolves grab a share of the Sun Belt regular-season title.

Last Wednesday, Arkansas State started their road trip with a visit to Louisiana, dominating the Ragin’ Cajuns for 40 minutes to an 83-64 final. Here, Nelson finished with a career-high in scoring for a double-double of 30 points, 21 rebounds and two blocked shots, while shooting 9-for-14 from the field on the night.

On Friday, with the Red Wolves desperately needing a win to catch James Madison in the Sun Belt’s standings, and Nelson managed 19 rebounds, 13 points and four blocked shots to help defeat ULM 94-67.

With Arkansas State, Troy and South Alabama all winning out on the Friday night, four teams claimed a share of the 2024-25 Sun Belt regular-season title. In addition, it’s Arkansas State’s first regular-season conference championship since 1998 while a 13-5 record in the Sun Belt marks the program’s most wins since 1997-98 and its second-most ever.

For his efforts, Nelson was selected as the Sun Belt Conference’s Player of the Week with the Red Wolves receiving the fourth seed at the 2025 SBC Championship which tipped off on Tuesday.

However, Arkansas State won’t be back in action until Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Honorable Mentions

Earl Timberlake (Bryant)

Timberlake tallied 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, four steals and three blocked shots in a win at UMass-Lowell and followed it up with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds to defeat Maine and set the Bulldogs up to win the AEC regular-season title.

Xzayvier Brown (Saint Joseph’s)

Brown registered 22 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double in a win over St. Bonaventure before notching 27 points, six boards and five assists to beat out Fordham on the road and continuing the Hawks four-game win streak.

Previous Honorees

Feb. 26: Kam Woods, Robert Morris

Feb. 19: Corey Washington, Wichita State

Feb. 12: Jaron Pierre Jr., Jacksonville State

Feb. 5: Jamal Mashburn Jr., Temple

Jan. 29: Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, UC San Diego

Jan. 22: Rahsool Diggins, UMass

Jan. 15: Lamar Washington, Pacific

Jan. 8: Nelly Junior Joseph, New Mexico

Jan. 1: Deywilk Tavarez, Charleston

Dec. 25: Tyler McGhie, UC San Diego

Dec. 18:

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