Again! Keegan Murray is Big Ten Player of the Week for sixth time this season

Iowa men’s basketball sophomore forward Keegan Murray was named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week Monday, marking the sixth time this season he has earned that honor.

Murray joins Ohio State’s Evan Turner (7 in 2009-10) and Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan (6 in 2016-17) as the only Big Ten players since the weekly award was introduced prior to the 1981-82 season to earn six or more weekly honors by the league in a single season.

Murray shares this week’s weekly honor with Nebraska’s Alonzo Verge Jr. Last week, Murray averaged 23.7 points and 12 rebounds over three games. He also averaged 3.0 blocks, 2.7 3-pointers, and 2.3 assists. He shot 53 percent (8-of-15) from 3-point range.

Also Monday, Murray was named to Sporting News’ five-player All-America first team, joining Kofi Cockburn of Illinois, Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis, Ochai Agbaji of Kansas and Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe.

Sporting News is one of four outlets used by the NCAA to determine its consensus All-America teams (Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches, United States Basketball Writers Association, and Sporting News).

Former Hawkeye Luka Garza earned first-team accolades by the publication in 2020 and 2021, while Jarrod Uthoff was a second-team selection in 2016.

Murray ranks first in the country in Player Efficiency Rating (38.4); fourth in points per game (23.3); 29th in field goal percentage (.554); 39th in blocks per contest (2.1); and 46th in double-doubles (9). His 23.3 points per game average is tops among players from a major conference.

Murray is the only player nationally to average 23-plus points, eight-plus rebounds, and two-plus blocks this season and one of three players from a major conference with those averages over the last decade.

Murray averaged 7.2 points per game last year and is averaging 23.3 this season (+16.1). The last Big Ten player to increase his scoring by 16 points per game from one season to the next was Illinois’ Rick Schmidt, who went from 3.8 ppg in 1972-73 to 21.4 ppg in 1973-74 (+17.6).

Murray is also on the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team, Lute Olson National Player of the Year Mid-Season List, and is a Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Finalist.

2022 Keegan Murray honors

• Sporting News First Team All-America

• John R. Wooden Award National Ballot (Semifinalist)

• Naismith Player of the Year Trophy Midseason Team

• Lute Olson National Player of the Year Midseason List

• Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Finalist

• Sporting News Midseason Second Team All-America

• The Athletic Midseason Second Team All-America

• Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week (Feb. 14)

• Big Ten Co-Player of the Week (March 7)

• Big Ten Player of the Week (Feb. 28)

• Big Ten Co-Player of the Week (Feb. 14)

• Big Ten Player of the Week (Jan. 3)

• Big Ten Player of the Week (Dec. 20)

• Big Ten Co-Player of the Week (Nov. 22)