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While BYU basketball fans throughout the world await an update on sophomore guard Nick Emery's left knee, the Cougars did get some good news on Monday.

Sophomore center Eric Mika is the WCC Player of the Week for the third time this season after averaging 19.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free-throw line in wins over Pepperdine and Pacific.

Also, BYU's Kalani Purcell is the WCC Women's Player of the Week.

Mika becomes the first player to win the WCC honor three times this season; He also won it the week of Dec. 12 and the week of Nov. 21.

As for Emery, who suffered the left knee injury in the second half of Saturday's 62-47 win over Pacific after scoring eight points in a 90-second span, a BYU basketball spokesperson said the team will "most likely wait until media tomorrow [Tuesday] for an update" on the sophomore's condition.

The Cougars (15-6) play at Santa Clara on Thursday as they try to hold off the Broncos for third place in the WCC.

A week from Thursday, on Feb. 2, BYU will host undefeated Gonzaga (19-0) in what could be an interesting game if Emery is healthy and the Cougars continue their newfound momentum this week against Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount.

Gonzaga moved up to No. 3 in both major polls on Monday, and should be 22-0 when that game rolls around because the Zags play Portland tonight in Portland (makeup game) and then host San Diego on Thursday before traveling to Pepperdine on Saturday.

Will Gonzaga be No. 1 on Feb. 2?

Obviously, the teams ahead of the Zags in the polls, Villanova and Kansas, would have to lose this week, and even then there's no guarantee that pollsters would vault Gonzaga ahead of either, or that Kentucky (17-2) or Baylor (18-1) wouldn't leapfrog GU.

Villanova is at 13-6 Marquette on Tuesday and then plays host to No. 12 Virginia on Sunday; Kansas is at No. 18 West Virginia on Tuesday and then at No. 4 Kentucky on Saturday.

I wrote Saturday that BYU losing Emery would be devastating to the Cougars, and several readers took exception to that comment, saying the sophomore could be replaced by Elijah Bryant in the starting lineup without BYU missing a beat. That may be true, but the depth would suffer a bunch. Bryant provides the Cougars a lift off the bench, and if he's starting, who would step in and fill that role?

There's no arguing, obviously, that Mika is the Cougars' best player and could not be replaced. The sophomore is averaging 20.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and making a strong case to be named WCC Player of the Year.

There's tough competition, though, with Jock Landale of Saint Mary's and a plethora of Gonzaga players also in the running, most notably Washington transfer Nigel Williams-Goss. He's averaging 15 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game and was added to the Oscar Robertson Trophy midseason list.

The Robertson Trophy goes to the national player of the year.