INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Arizona forward Ąžuolas Tubelis as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 5.
As the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week, Tubelis 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. Tubelis is the sixth Arizona player to win the award.
The 6-11 junior from Vilnius, Lithuania, scored career-high 40 points on 16-of-21 shooting in a 91-76 victory over Oregon last Thursday. He added nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game that avenged a Jan. 14 loss in Eugene. It was the first 40-point game by an Arizona player since Damon Stoudamire scored 40 vs. Washington State on March 2, 1995.
Tubelis added 19 points and eight rebounds in just 23 minutes in 84-52 rout of Oregon State on Saturday, which improved the Wildcats to 21-3 overall and 10-3 in Pac-12 play.
In the two games last week, he averaged 29.5 points on 71 percent shooting (22-for-31), 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 assists. Tubelis is just one of two Division I players averaging at least 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 55 percent shooting; Zach Edey of Purdue is the other.
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 winner of the award will announced at the 2023 Men's Final Four in Houston with the formal presentation to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
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.