Caitlin Clark, Keegan Murray of Iowa Hawkeyes are Naismith Trophy finalists

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Keegan Murray were named among the eight finalists Tuesday for the women’s and men’s Naismith Trophy for national Player of the Year.

Clark, the sophomore guard from West Des Moines who leads women’s basketball in scoring (27.9 points per game) and assists (7.9), was the Big Ten’s Player of the Year.

Her fellow finalists are Aliyah Boston of South Carolina, Haley Jones of Stanford and Nalyssa Smith of Baylor. Each was the Player of the Year in their conference.

Sophomore forward Murray, from Cedar Rapids, leads all Division I major-conference players in scoring with 23.6 points per game. He also averaged 8.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals.

Murray’s fellow finalists are Big Ten Player of the Year Johnny Davis of Wisconsin, SEC Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky, and Big 12 Player of the Year Ochai Agbaji of Kansas.

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