After a pair of wins and back-to-back dominating performances, Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell was named the Big Ten Player of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday.
The Buckeyes went 2-0 on the week, picking up a 69-67 road win at Northwestern on Thursday and their first win over a ranked team Sunday when they knocked off No. 23 Indiana, 82-70.
Those two wins wouldn’t have been possible without the performance of Russell.
Against the Wildcats on Thursday, the freshman from Louisville poured in a career-high 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting. He also made 6 of 11 attempts from 3-point range, dished out six assists and grabbed seven rebounds. Russell scored Ohio State’s final 13 points of that game.
On Sunday against the Hoosiers, though, Russell was equally impressive. He scored a team-high 22 points and had a career-high 10 assists while also chipping in six rebounds for the Buckeyes.
So far this season, Russell is averaging 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game as one of the top all-around offensive players in the country. He also shoots 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from behind the 3-point line.
Russell has already been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week four times this season, but this is his first Player of the Week honor.
Ohio State hosts No. 13 Maryland on Thursday.
D'Angelo Russell of .@OhioStateHoops captures #B1GMBBall Player & Freshman of the Week honors. Details upcoming. #B1G pic.twitter.com/1Rsb86lt6f
— Big Ten Men's Hoops (@B1GMBBall) January 26, 2015
