Michigan's Stauskas, Walton win Big Ten awards for week

Michigan guard Nik Stauskas has been named the Big Ten's Player of the Week for the second straight week, while Derrick Walton Jr. was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, as announced by the conference office today (Monday, Jan. 27).

Stauskas, who has also been named Player of the Week by both CBSSports.com and CollegeSportsMadness.com, continued his strong play as he helped the Wolverines close out a historic week of action. They won their third straight game against a top-10 opponent, marking the first time in school history that has been accomplished and the first time a Big Ten team has done it since Iowa in 1986-87.

For the week, Stauskas averaged 22.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He shot a blistering 57.7 percent from the field (15-for-26) and 60.0 percent from long range (9-for-15). He added a 6-for-7 showing from the free throw line.

Opening the week, Stauskas tied a career-high 26 points as U-M defeated No. 10 Iowa (Jan. 22) and held the Hawkeyes to a season-low 67 points. He added five rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal, while going 8-for-14 from the field (57.1 percent) and 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) from long range.

Closing the week at No. 3 Michigan State, Stauskas showed no signs of letting up as he ended with 19 points and went 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from the field, including a 5-for-6 performance from behind the arc. He added four assists, two rebounds and a steal as the Wolverines kept their perfect Big Ten record intact.

After playing just three minutes against Iowa due to illness, Walton Jr. guided Michigan to an 80-75 victory at No. 3 Michigan State with a career-best 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.

He finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field (4-for-8) and a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc, including a key long-range bucket to tie the game at 58-58 down the stretch. He added a career-best 9-for-10 shooting performance from the free throw line, including going 8-for-9 over the final 2:29 of the game to seal U-M's second win over a No. 3-ranked team on the road in less than a week.

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