Iowa and Ohio State Split Week Eight Big Ten Honors

The Big Ten released its weekly award winners for Week Eight of the regular season and Iowa and Ohio State ended up splitting the awards. Keegan Murray was named Big Ten Player of the Week and Malaki Branham was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Murray had quite a performance last week for Iowa, leading the Hawkeyes to a win over Western Illinois to close out non-conference play. He scored 29 points and posted 10 rebounds in the win. At this point, there’s little debating Murray will be in the running for Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American honors at season’s end. This is the third time he’s earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors in his career.

Similarly, Branham had a nice performance for the Buckeyes as well. He scored 35 points and grabbed six rebounds in Ohio State’s win over Nebraska last week. And the Buckeyes certainly needed every one of his 35 points, as the game ended in overtime. This is the first time he’s earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors in his career.

Congratulations are in order for both players. And don’t be surprised if these two earn their way back on this list as the season continues.