After averaging 28.5 points per game to lead 11th-ranked Purdue to a pair of wins over top-10 opponents last week, senior guard E’Twaun Moore was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday in an announcement by the league office.
The honor is the third of Moore’s career, and his second this season, as he also earned the acclaim on Jan. 3. Moore’s two weekly honors, coupled with junior guard Ryne Smith’s selection on Jan. 10, give the Boilermakers three Big Ten Player of the Week awards this year.
The East Chicago, Ind., native averaged 28.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, while shooting 56.8 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from long distance, as the Boilermakers captured victories over No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 2/3 Ohio State to move within a game of the Big Ten lead.
In the Boilermakers’ 70-62 win over UW on Wednesday, Moore connected on 8-of-19 shots, including 3-of-7 from deep, to finish with 19 points.
Moore’s performance against the Badgers proved to be just a warm-up for the Sunday-afternoon showdown with OSU, as he torched the Buckeyes for a career-high 38 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field. He connected on 7-of-10 shots from beyond the arc and 5-of-7 attempts from the free throw line, while chipping in a game-high five assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
In addition to his career-high point total, Moore’s 13 field goals and seven treys were also personal bests. The 38 points he scored on Sunday represented the highest single-game total by a Purdue player under head coach Matt Painter.
The Boilers’ win over Ohio State was also special for Moore on an individual level, as he buried a triple late in the first half to become just the fifth 2,000-point scorer in program history. The same shot also made him just the fourth player in Big Ten history to reach 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 350 assists for his career.
Purdue will return to action on Wednesday night, when it travels to Bloomington, Ind., to take on Indiana at Assembly Hall. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET, with Big Ten Network slated to televise the action and the Purdue Sports Network to handle the radio call.