Keegan Murray named Naismith Trophy Player of the Week
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa men’s basketball sophomore Keegan Murray was selected as the Naismith Trophy Player of the Week on Monday for his efforts in a pair of Hawkeye victories last week.
The last Iowa men’s basketball player to earn a Naismith Trophy Player of the Week honor was Luka Garza a year ago on Feb. 22, 2021.
Murray (6-foot-8, 225 pounds) helped propel the Hawkeyes to comfortable victories at Maryland (110-87) on Feb. 10 and at home against Nebraska (98-75) on Feb. 13. Murray averaged 33.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, two blocks, and 1.5 steals in the two contests.
Against the Terrapins, Murray tallied 30 points, seven rebounds, and a game-best two blocked shots. He shot a blistering 12-of-14 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range.
Murray poured in a game and career-best 37 points, six rebounds, and a game bests in steals (3) and blocks (2) against the Huskers. The 37 points are believed to be the third most by any men’s basketball player in Carver-Hawkeye Arena’s 39-year history (45 by Brian Quinnett of Washington State in 1986; 41 by Iowa’s Luka Garza in 2020). The 37 points tie the highest point total by a Big Ten player in a game this season (Kofi Cockburn and Johnny Davis).
Murray is the first Hawkeye to score 30+ points in back-to-back Big Ten games since Matt Gatens 10 years ago in 2012 (30 vs. Indiana and 33 vs. Wisconsin).
Murray, who is the only NCAA Division I player this season averaging 23+ points, 8+ rebounds, and 2+ blocks, has netted 25+ points an NCAA-best 11 times this season. He has tallied 30+ points four times, the most by any underclassman in a single season in program history.
Murray ranks third in the nation in points per game and his 23.3 scoring average is most of any player from a major conference. Murray has increased his scoring average by 16.1 points from last year, which is the highest increase from one season to the next since Illinois’ Rick Schmidt boasted his scoring average by 17.6 points from 1973-74.
Iowa (17-7, 7-6) faces Michigan (13-10, 7-6) on Thursday at 6:01 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Tickets are available for purchase at hawkeyesports.com/tickets.