Jan. 31, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the second consecutive week and third time this season, Irish guard Ben Hansbrough (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) has been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Hansbrough earned the honor after he scored 19 points, dished off seven assists and grabbed four rebounds in Notre Dame’s 56-51 upset win at second-ranked Pittsburgh on Jan. 24.
Hansbrough, who earlier in the month was recognized as the BIG EAST Player of the Week on Jan. 10, scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, including 13 down the stretch as he outscored the entire Panther team 13-12 in the final 9:22 of the contest. The win marked the third win over a top-10 team for Notre Dame this season.
Peyton Silva of Louisville copped the league’s player-of-the-week honor, while Jeremy Lamb of Connecticut was named to the conference’s rookie of the week. Rounding out the Weekly Honor Roll along with Hansbrough were Austin Freeman of Georgetown, Jimmy Butler of Marquette, Dwight Hardy of St. John’s and Jeremy Hazell of Seton Hall.
Hansbrough leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game and also tops the Irish in assists (85) and steals (26). He also is averaging 3.7 rebounds per game and has led Notre Dame in scoring on 11 occasions. Hansbrough has scored in double figures in all but two games this season and has topped the 20-plus mark on
Notre Dame currently is 17-4 overall on the season and has a 6-3 mark midway through the BIG EAST season. The Irish currently are ranked ninth in the Associated Press and eighth in the ESPN/USA Today polls.
Notre Dame returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 2 when it travels to Allstate Arena to take on DePaul with tipoff slated for 9:00 p.m. (ET).