WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue senior Vincent Edwards was named the Big Ten Player of the Week after leading the No. 3-ranked Boilermakers to a pair of impressive victories.
Purdue improved to 21-2 overall and remained unbeaten in Big Ten play with wins over No. 25-ranked Michigan (92-88) and at Indiana (74-67). Purdue leads the Big Ten standings by one game over Ohio State (9-1) and owns a nation’s-best 17-game win streak heading into Wednesday’s contest with Maryland in Mackey Arena.
Edwards averaged 24.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 16-of-26 (.615) from the field and 14-of-17 (.824) from the free throw line in the two victories to earn his first Player of the Week accolade.
In Thursday’s win over Michigan, the Middletown, Ohio, native scored a career-high 30 points with five rebounds and five assists, while going 9-of-11 from the field, 3-of-3 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. The 11 shots were the second fewest for a 30-point scorer in school history.
He then added 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists in Sunday’s win at Indiana, which helped the senior class post a 3-1 record at Assembly Hall, becoming only the third class since 1935 to win three games in Bloomington. He tallied 13 points in the decisive second half as Purdue overcame a halftime deficit in the victory.
Edwards is averaging 15.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 44.8 percent from 3-point range and 83.5 percent from the free throw line.
In league play, he is averaging 17.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 46.5 percent from long distance. He is 1-of-7 players nationally to average 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shoot 50.0 percent from the field in conference play and the only Big Ten player to do so.
Edwards needs just 11 points and four more rebounds for 1,500 and 700 in his career, respectively. He would be the first Purdue player in school history to have 1,500 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists.
It marks the second straight week that a Boilermaker has won the Big Ten Player of the Week honor. Sophomore guard Carsen Edwards was honored last week.
Purdue hosts Maryland in Mackey Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 31, tipping at 8:30 p.m. ET. A limited amount of tickets remains.
