INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Washington State guard Noah Williams as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 21.
As the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week, Williams 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. Once again, the USBWA will select a Division I men's National Player of the Week each Tuesday throughout the season. The USBWA has named Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week since the 2009-10 season.
Williams, a 6-5 sophomore from Seattle, Wash., averaged 28.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists in a three-game week, including a career-high 40-point effort Saturday in an 85-76 triple overtime win over Stanford. It was the Pac-12's first 40-point performance in a conference game since Andrew Andrews scored 47 for Washington in March 2016. Williams hit a career-high eight 3-pointers against Stanford, one of which came with six seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime.
The win snapped a nine-game losing streak to Stanford and clinched the Cougars' first winning season since 2010-11.
The big game came two nights after scoring a then-career-high 32 points, shooting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, to go with nine rebounds and seven assists in an 82-51 win against Cal as WSU swept the Bay Area schools in a weekend for the first time since 2011-12.
His 72 total points over the weekend were the most in program history, surpassing Bennie Seltzer's 68 in 1993, the last time a Cougar posted back-to-back 30-point outings. Williams also scored 12 points with seven rebounds in a 65-63 loss at Washington last Monday.
Williams is the third Washington State player to earn the honor and the first since Robert Franks won it the week ending Feb. 10, 2019. The Cougars play at Arizona at 8 p.m. PT Thursday and at Arizona State at 1:30 p.m. PT Saturday to conclude their Pac-12 schedule. They added an additional game at Arizona State at noon next Monday as a makeup for a previously-scheduled WSU home conference game that was postponed. WSU has completed every regular season contest that was scheduled at the beginning of the season.
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 Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
2020-21 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
Week ending Dec. 20: Boo Buie, Northwestern (Big Ten
Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 27: Corey Kispert,
Gonzaga (West Coast Conference)
· Week ending
Jan. 3: Liam Robbins, Minnesota (Big Ten Conference)
·
Week ending Jan. 10: Matthew Hurt, Duke (Atlantic
Coast Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 17: Matt
Lewis, James Madison (Colonial Athletic Association)
·
Week ending Jan. 24: Jared Butler, Baylor (Big 12
Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 31: Keve Aluma,
Virginia Tech (Atlantic Coast Conference)
·
Week ending Feb. 7: Terry Taylor, Austin Peay (Ohio Valley Conference)
·
Week ending Feb. 14: Drew Timme, Gonzaga (West Coast
Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 21: Noah Williams,
Washington State (Pac-12 Conference)
· Week
ending Feb. 28: Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference)