Jan. 10, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame senior guard Ben Hansbrough (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) has been named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for his efforts in wins over Connecticut and St. John’s last week. Hansbrough averaged 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals in the two victories.
Hansbrough netted 21 points, in addition to grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists, as the Irish topped the eighth-ranked Huskies 73-70. He also helped hold Connecticut guard Kemba Walker, the nation’s leading scorer, to an 8-23 shooting night.
In the 76-61 victory over St. John’s, Hansbrough deposited a career-high 26 points. He also had four rebounds, three assists and matched a career-high total in steals with four.
Hansbrough has reached double-figures in 10 straight games, which is a personal-best streak. He leads Notre Dame with a 16.3 points-per-game average in addition to having team-best totals in assists (63) and steals (20).
This is the first BIG EAST Player of the Week honor for Hansbrough, who was named to the league’s weekly honor roll on Nov. 22. He was selected to the honor roll once last season, which was his first campaign with the Irish. Hansbrough is the first Notre Dame player to earn the conference’s player-of-the-week citation since Luke Harangody did so twice last season (Jan. 11 and Feb. 8).
The No. 9/11 Fighting Irish (14-2, 3-1) will face Marquette (11-5, 2-1) at 7:00 p.m. (ET) tonight in BIG EAST play at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
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