BOSTON – Samford’s Ques Glover and Chattanooga’s Malachi Smith, the top two scorers in the Southern Conference, are on the midseason watch list for the 2021-22 Lou Henson National Player of the Year award, CollegeInsider.com announced Wednesday.

The award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I college basketball, honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.

Glover, a sophomore guard in his first season at Samford, is second in the SoCon in scoring at 19.3 points per game and is second in the league in assists at 4.4 per contest. He has led the Bulldogs to an 11-4 overall record so far, which includes Power 5 wins over Oregon State and Ole Miss. The Knoxville, Tennessee, native was named the SoCon Player of the Week presented by GEICO on Dec. 27 after scoring 21 points and grabbing five rebounds in the win over the Rebels.

Smith paces the SoCon in scoring at 20.8 points per game and has scored in double figures in each of his last 10 games, averaging 25.0 points over that span. A three-time SoCon Player of the Week this season, Smith, a sophomore guard from Belleville, Illinois, is third in the SoCon with a 53.6 field-goal percentage. Smith has led Chattanooga to a 13-3 overall record and a 3-0 start to SoCon play, as well as a No. 11 ranking in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.