The Big Ten is announcing its postseason award winners on BTN tonight. Stay tuned here for the full rundown as they come out.
MATT PAINTER NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR
A year after losing the deep and productive senior class that led Purdue to a Big Ten title two seasons ago and a school-record 30 wins last season, Painter led the Boilermakers to a 23-8 record to this point this season, 16-4 in the Big Ten, with a roster that includes six scholarship players who either weren’t at Purdue, or didn’t play in a game for Purdue, last season.
This is his fourth Big Ten Coach-of-the-Year honor, matching Bo Ryan. Only Gene Keady (seven) and Bob Knight (five) have won more in league history.
Painter has been named one of 11 semifinalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award, as well.
CARSEN EDWARDS NAMED FIRST-TEAM ALL-BIG TEN
Junior Carsen Edwards has been named first-team All-Big Ten, unanimously, by coaches and media.
During the Big Ten season, Edwards led the league in scoring, after 21.4 points, pacing the conference’s third-highest-scoring offensive team, making a league-leading average of three three-pointers per game.
Last year’s Big Ten Player-of-the-Year, All-America honoree and Jerry West Award winner was named first-team all-league for the second consecutive season.
All-DEFENSE TEAM
Purdue's Nojel Eastern, one of the top perimeter defenders in the league and one of the finest Matt Painter's had at Purdue, was named to the Big Ten's All-Defense team.
Matt Haarms, who led the Big Ten in blocked shots and was a crucial piece to the Boilermakers' defense on the perimeter, was not.
NO PURDUE PLAYERS MAKE SECOND OR THIRD TEAM
In what can be considered a bit of a surprise, the co-league champion produced no other All-Big Ten picks, at least on the second or third teams. (Vote-getters will be named honorable mention.)
Ryan Cline, Matt Haarms and Nojel Eastern all could have been considered, and maybe even Grady Eifert.
Cline was Purdue’s second-leading scorer in Big Ten play at 10.8 points. His three-point percentage of 43.8 was good for a third-place tie in the league — and only Carsen Edwards made more threes per game than Cline’s average of 2.8 — and he was second in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Eastern was one of the best perimeter defenders in the conference and Purdue’s top rebounder. His much-improved foul shooting was so important in several games for the eventual league champion. He averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and about three assists in Big Ten play.
Haarms played at a high All-Big Ten level toward the end of the Big Ten and wound up leading the conference in both field-goal percentage (by a mile, at 63.6) and blocked shots (2.4). Haarms averaged 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in Big Ten play.
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