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Jan. 16, 2018
For Immediate Release
Contact: Joe Mitch
314-795-6821

Weekly honor shared by pair of 44-point scorers

HUTCHISON, PIPKINS ARE OSCAR
ROBERTSON NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Boise State guard Chandler Hutchison and Massachusetts guard Luwane Pipkins as its Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 14. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.

As the Mountain West Conference and Atlantic 10 Conference Players of the Week, Hutchison and Pipkins were nominated for the weekly award, and then chosen by a representative of the USBWA board of directors from a list of Division I conference players of the week. This is the ninth season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week.

A 6-7 senior from Mission Viejo, Calif., Hutchison averaged 32.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in two games, wins at Fresno State and vs. San Diego State. Against San Diego State, Hutchison set a single-game school record with 44 points on 15-of-21 shooting from the field, including 7-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Previously, he registered his eighth double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and pulling down 10 rebounds at Fresno State. For the week, Hutchison shot 54.5 percent (18-of-33) from the field, 63.6 percent from beyond the 3-point line (7-of-11) and 81.5 percent from the charity stripe (22-of-27).

A 5-11 sophomore from Chicago, Ill., Pipkins averaged 35.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game leading UMass to wins over La Salle and Saint Joseph's. He shot 54.5 percent (24-of-44) from the floor, including 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from the 3-point arc, and 83.3 percent (15-of-18) from the charity stripe.

His 44 points in the win over La Salle set a new single-game school record, eclipsing the nearly 50-year standing mark of 41 points and was a Mullins Center record. Pipkins added five rebounds and five assists to help UMass erase a 21-point second-half deficit.

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 37th 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.

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