Michigan and Michigan State Split Week Eight Big Ten Honors

The Big Ten released its weekly award winners for week eight of the regular season on Monday and two teams ended up splitting the awards. Michigan State’s Cassius Winston was named Big Ten Player of the Week and Michigan’s Ignas Brazdeikis was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. In a slow week for the league, these two stood out.

Entering this season, Winston was viewed as one of the league’s best guards and has largely lived up to that billing. He has led a Spartan squad that’s in the top 10 and has consistently put up big numbers this season. So far, he is averaging 17.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game.

This week, Winston scored 24 points in the team’s win over a relatively decent Northern Illinois team at home. The win pushed Michigan State to 11-2 overall. The Spartans continue to look like a Big Ten title contender and Winston is a major reason why. This is the second time that Winston has been named Big Ten Player of the Week during his career.

Brazdeikis also had an impressive performance this week. He scored 21 points in the team’s win over Binghamton on Sunday and continues to stand out on a loaded Wolverine team. In fact, Brazdeikis leads the Wolverines in scoring so far this season as a true freshman. An impressive stat considering that Michigan is second nationally in the rankings.

All told, it was a big week for the Big Ten and these two teams. It will be exciting to watch Winston and Brazdeikis as the season continues to unfold.