The Ohio State men’s basketball team already dropped its final game of the regular season, but it raked in multiple individual awards Monday.
Freshman guard D’Angelo Russell was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year as well as being named to the first-team All-Big Ten list by both coaches and media. Russell is the first Buckeye to win the conference Freshman of the Year award since Jared Sullinger in 2011.
Russell also becomes the first Buckeye to be named first-team all-conference since DeShaun Thomas and Aaron Craft were both on the list in 2013.
Russell finished his regular season campaign averaging 19.2 points per game, good for second in the Big Ten. He also led the Buckeyes in rebounds and was second on the team in assists.
Joining Russell on the All-Big Ten freshman team is forward Jae’Sean Tate, who averaged 8.9 points per game this season, while ranking second on the team in total rebounds with 152.
Tate earned the honors despite only starting 12 games this season after he stepped in for struggling sophomore forward Marc Loving six games into the Big Ten schedule. The Pickerington, Ohio, native averaged 10.7 points and five rebounds per game in conference play.
In addition to Russell and Tate’s accolades, senior guard Shannon Scott and senior forward Sam Thompson were both honorable mention selections by the media.
OSU is set to return to action on Thursday in Chicago in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes are scheduled to play the winner of the Minnesota vs. Rutgers matchup, which is set to be played Wednesday.
