INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Western Illinois guard Trenton Massner as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 29.
As the Summit League Player of the Week, Massner 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. Massner is the first player from Western Illinois to earn this honor and joins South Dakota State’s Mike Daum as the only other Summit League player to be honored by the USBWA.
The 6’2″ senior from Wapello, Iowa, led the Leathernecks to three home wins in a most memorable week. On Monday, he set the school single-game scoring record with 46 points in an 82-70 win over North Dakota. Massner nailed nine three-pointers and was 16-for-21 overall from the field to go with five assists. He scored 33 points in the second half to break Dan Braun’s school record of 44 points that stood since Feb. 7, 1970.
Three nights later, Massner hit a game-winning three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left as part of a 23-point effort in a 75-72 win over South Dakota. He added six rebounds and six assists, playing all 40 minutes.
In his third game of the week, he helped the Leathernecks rally from a 22-point deficit with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on Saturday. His three-pointer forced overtime, where WIU pulled out the 81-73 win over South Dakota State.
For the week, he averaged averaged 33.0 points, 6.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game and had 18 three-pointers in the three-game span.
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.
The Leathernecks are next in action on Thursday, taking on Denver on the road. WIU then visits Omaha on Saturday before completing the regular season home schedule with games against Kansas City and Oral Roberts next Thursday and Saturday.
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