UCLA's Holiday wraps non-conference season with Pac-12 weekly honor

Pac-12 Men's Basketball Player of the Week (12/25/17) - Aaron Holiday, Jr., G, UCLA

• National Player of the Year candidate Aaron Holiday of UCLA earns his first career Pac-12 Player of the Week award for the week of Dec. 18-24 as voted on by media who cover the league. Holiday is on the watch lists for the James Naismith and John Wooden National Player of the Year awards.

• Playing in the same arena as older brother Jrue of the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans, Holiday scored eight of his team's final 12 points during the closing 2:30 to help UCLA topple No. 7 Kentucky, 83-75, in the CBS Sports Classic at Smoothie King Center. Aaron is the first of the three Holiday brothers - all of whom played at Pac-12 member schools (Jrue - UCLA 2008-09, Justin - Washington 2007-11) - to earn the league's weekly award.

• Holiday finished the game with 20 points and eight assists to help the Bruins defeat a top-10 Wildcats team in the regular season for the third straight year. The upset came four days after Holiday totaled 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in an 85-82 win over South Dakota.

• For the week, Holiday averaged 17.5 points, 6.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals to help UCLA close non-conference play with a 9-3 mark. He has scored in double figures in 11 of UCLA's 12 games, totaling at least 20 points in four games this season.

ALSO NOMINATED: Deandre Ayton, ARIZONA; Tra Holder, ARIZONA STATE; McKinley Wright IV, COLORADO; Payton Pritchard, OREGON; Tres Tinkle, OREGON STATE; Chimezie Metu, USC; Justin Bibbins, UTAH; Carter Skaggs, WASHINGTON STATE.

2017-18 PAC-12 MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK