Bryce McGowens earns eighth B1G FOTW Honors, Alonzo Verge Jr. named B1G POTW

McGowens named Freshman of the Week

The Nebraska Cornhuskers went 2-0 last week for the first time in conference play in years, and defeated two ranked teams on the road in consecutive games for the first time in program history. Nebraska defeated No. 23 Ohio State in Columbus Tuesday and No. 10 Wisconsin Sunday in Madison. The win over Wisconsin was just the fourth over an AP Top-10 program in history and the first by the Huskers since 2014.

Coming off such a spectacular week for the program, freshman Bryce McGowens picked up his eighth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors this season, and it marks his fifth in the last six weeks dating to Jan. 31.

McGowens posted a game-high 26 points against Ohio State Tuesday night, his 11th performance of 20+ points this season. He went 8-for-15 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line in the matchup. He did not play at Wisconsin due to a wrist injury. McGowens became just the fifth Husker freshman or sophomore to score 500 points in a season and is the all-time freshman scoring leader at Nebraska following the performance against the Buckeyes.

McGowens now holds the record for second most all-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors with eight, after previously tying for second with seven. Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger holds the all-time lead with 12. Freshman of the Week honors have been awarded by the Big Ten since the 2010-11 season.

Verge named Co-Player of the Week

Alonzo Verge Jr. shared Co-Big Ten Player of the Week honors with Iowa’s Keegan Murray following his performances last week. It marks Verge’s first Player of the Week honors in the Big Ten and the first time a Husker has earned Player of the Week honors since James Palmer Jr. did so on Jan. 22, 2018.

Verge averaged 19.5 points, 8.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steal per game in the two road wins last week for the Huskers.

Verge scored 13 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds against Ohio State Tuesday and notched a team best fifth double-double of the season. He went on to score an impressive game-high 26 points while adding six assists, five rebounds, and two steals at Wisconsin yesterday. He scored nine of Nebraska’s points during the team’s game-clinching 12-0 run against Wisconsin.

Nebraska returns to action Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. (6 EST) against Northwestern in the opening game of the Big Ten Tournament. The game will broadcast on the Big Ten Network.