ST. LOUIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Eastern Washington's Jacob Wiley as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 5. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
As the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, Wiley was nominated for the weekly award, which was chosen by a representative of the USBWA board of directors from a list of Division I conference players of the week. This is the eighth season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week.
Wiley, a 6-7 senior graduate transfer forward from Newport, Wash., scored 83 points in home wins over Sacramento State and Portland State last week. In the two victories, he also averaged 14.5 rebounds, two assists and two blocks while shooting 70 percent from the field (32-for-46) and 76 percent from the free-throw line (19-of-25).
Wiley made history in last Saturdays 130-124 triple-overtime win over Portland State when he scored a school-record 45 points. His teammate, Bogdan Bliznyuk would equal the record with 45 points of his own in the game.
Eastern Washingtons 130 points set a new Big Sky Conference record for points scored by a single team in a game and the 254 total points between PSU and EWU set another league record for most points by two teams. Wiley and Bliznyuk·s 45 points was the first time in Big Sky and that two players have scored at least 45 points in a game.
Last Thursday, Wiley had what was then a career-high 38 points on 14-of-23 from the field with 12 rebounds in a 77-72 win over Sacramento State. For the season, he has scored in double figures in all but two of EWUs 24 games and has six double-doubles.
Since the 1958-59 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and two-time USBWA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson. It is the nation's oldest award and the only one named after a former player.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and the Oscar Robertson Trophy, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.
Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, the most comprehensive college basketball publication in the world, returns for its 36th season. Blue Ribbon long-known as "The Bible of College Basketball" · gives its readers the most thorough, up-to-date and timely evaluations of every Division I team in the country. For more information about Blue Ribbon Yearbooks, visit
blueribbonyearbookonline.com.
2016-17 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
Week ending Dec. 11: Josh Hart, Villanova (Big East Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 18: Malik Monk, Kentucky (Southeastern Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 25: Quentin Snider, Louisville (Atlantic Coast Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 1: Dillon Brooks, Oregon (Pac-12 Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 8: Ryan Taylor, Marshall (Conference USA)
· Week ending Jan. 15: Quincy McKnight, Sacred Heart (Northeast Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 22: Lauri Markkanen, Arizona (Pac-12 Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 29: Tim Cline, Richmond (Atlantic 10 Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 5: Jacob Wiley, Eastern Washington (Big Sky Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 12: Bonzie Coles, Notre Dame (Atlantic Coast Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 19: Mike Daum, South Dakota State (The Summitt League)
· Week ending Feb. 26: Elijah Bryant, BYU (West Coast Conference)