BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- WKU senior guard AJ Slaughter has been named the Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon. It is the Shelbyville, Ky. native's second selection in the past five weeks, and the third of his career. He becomes the first repeat winner in the Sun Belt this season after taking home the honor on November 17.

WKU has now had 48 weekly winners in its 27 years of SBC affiliation. The Hilltoppers established a new school mark with four honors last season.

The Sun Belt's Preseason Player of the Year averaged a team-best 16.0 ppg this week in leading the Hilltoppers to a pair of big non-conference wins over Evansville and 24th-ranked Vanderbilt. He connected on 12-of-25 shots from the field including 4-of-10 from long range and 4-of-5 at the charity stripe while adding 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest.

In a 63-57 win over Evansville, Slaughter helped the Tops avenge their worst loss from last season by directing the offense with four assists to just one turnover.

On Friday night, the senior guard shined at the Sommet Center for the second time in as many seasons against a ranked opponent. Slaughter poured in a game-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go with three rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals as the Toppers upset #24 Vanderbilt 76-69. It was WKU's first win over the Commodores since 1946, snapping a 10-game losing streak to Vanderbilt.

Of his top three career scoring nights, two have come at the Sommet Center. Currently ranked seventh in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring this season, Slaughter has 1,117 career points, passing Chris Marcus (2000-03) and Darrin Horn (1992-95) this week to move up to 32nd on the WKU all-time scoring list.

At his current pace of 16.4 ppg, Slaughter is on track to break into the top 12 all-time at WKU in scoring.

WKU is finishing up final exams this week and will return to the hardwood on Saturday, December 19 against Louisville in Freedom Hall. The game will be a live national telecast on ESPN2 at 3:00 PM CT. Last season, the Hilltoppers stunned the third-ranked Cardinals 68-54 at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn. in which Slaughter scored a then-career-high 25 points.