Jones named National Freshman of the Week

One day after being honored as the Pac-12 freshman of the week, Utah's Rylan Jones was named the national freshman of the week

On Monday, Utah freshman Rylan Jones was named the Pac-12's freshman of the week — the first such honor for the point guard.

However, the honors didn't stop there. 

It was announced on Tuesday that Jones was named the national freshman of the week by CBS Sports/United States Basketball Writers Association. Jones was sensational against the two schools from Washington, helping end Utah's four-game losing streak by leading the Utes to victories over Washington and Washington State.

The @CBSSports/@USBWA national Freshman of the Week is @UtahMBB’s Rylan Jones.

@APlayersProgram’s Zeke Nnaji is up to No. 2 in the Frosh Watch. https://t.co/GY7VY6ExG1

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 28, 2020

Over the two-game span, Jones averaged 18.5 points, six assists, five rebounds and 2.5 steals — with 26 of the 37 total points scored coming in the final 10 minutes of the game.

Against Washington, it was a combination of Jones' defense and free throw shooting that allowed the Utes to come from behind and stun the Huskies. He finished the game with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, including a 9-of-10 showing from the free throw line.

“He's one of the best there is,” Utah forward Mikael Jantunen said of Jones. “Sometimes, you'll stop and watch too, which is probably not a good thing to say. But he's a great player."

It was a different type of Jones that showed up in the end against Washington State. He scored on four consecutive possessions after the Cougars cut the Utah lead to single digits with less than six to play, while finishing with 11 of the team's final 14 points. He ended the game with 24 points, four steals and three assists.

On the season, Jones is averaging 11.1 points per game, is fourth in the Pac-12 in assists at 4.9 per game, second in free-throw percentage at 87.9% and sixth in 3-point shooting at 41.7%.