Jaren Jackson Jr. Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week
12/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State freshman men's basketball player Jaren Jackson Jr. was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time this season on Monday.
Jackson helped the Spartans to a pair of wins last week, a 62-52 road win at Rutgers on Dec. 5 and an 88-63 win over Southern Utah at home on Saturday.
Michigan State, ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls, has won eight-straight games and is 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten Conference.
Jackson averaged 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in the wins last week. Against Rutgers, he scored 11 points (all in the second half) and blocked eight shots to tie the Michigan State single-game record and set the freshman school record. He followed that up with 17 points and 13 rebounds against Southern Utah to notch his fifth double-double of the season. Jackson also hit a career-best 11-of-12 free throws in the win over the Thunderbirds.
This is the second Freshman of the Week honor for Jackson, who also was named on Nov. 27.
Through 10 games this season, Jackson is fifth on the team in scoring with 10.8 points and leads the Spartans with 7.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. He ranks ninth in the country in total blocks (30).
Michigan State plays Oakland on Saturday, Dec. 16 at Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit, Michigan as part of a doubleheader. The game is scheduled to tip off at 2:30 p.m. and will air on ESPNU, with Clay Matvick handling the play-by-play and Brooke Weisbrod serving as the color analyst.
