Alonzo Verge Jr. and Bryce McGowens were honored Monday, as the Big Ten Conference announced its weekly honors. Verge shared Big Ten Player of the Week honors with Iowa’s Keegan Murray, while McGowens was named Freshman of the Week.
Both were recognized following the Huskers’ 2-0 week which included road wins at No. 23 Ohio State and No. 10 Wisconsin. It marked the first time in program history that Nebraska won consecutive road games against ranked opponents.
Verge averaged 19.5 points on 50 percent shooting, 8.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game in two wins to post his first weekly honor. The senior posted his team-best fifth double-double at Ohio State with 13 points and 11 assists and keyed NU’s win at Wisconsin with a game-high 26 points and six assists. He scored nine of his 26 point in Nebraska’s decisive 12-0 run en route to its first top-10 road win since 2014. Verge is the first Husker to be named Big Ten Player of the Week since Jan. 22, 2018 (James Palmer Jr.).
McGowens starred in the Huskers’ 78-70 win at Ohio State, with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 from the foul line. It was his 11th 20-point game of the season, breaking NU’s freshman record, while he became just the fifth Husker freshman or sophomore to score 500 points in a season. It marked McGowens’ eighth Freshman-of-the-Week award, which is the second-highest total since the conference began the award in 2010-11. McGowens has won the weekly award five of the past six weeks dating back to Jan. 31.
In addition to the player awards, Nebraska was chosen as Dick Vitale’s Team of the Week on ESPN.com following the wins over Ohio State and Wisconsin. The win over the Buckeyes snapped a 24-game losing streak against ranked teams dating back to 2019.
The Huskers open Big Ten Tournament action on Wednesday, March 9, against Northwestern. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. (Central) The game will be broadcast on KBBN 95.3 FM with coverage on the Huskers Sports Network beginning at 4 p.m.
