Ohio State’s Malaki Branham Named Big Ten Freshman Of The Week For Third Time

Branham is the first freshman in school history to score 30-plus points in multiple road games.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Feb 28, 2022 1:35 PM EST

Ohio State guard Malaki Branham was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the third time this season on Monday afternoon.

A former four-star prospect from Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, Branham averaged 23.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the Buckeyes’ wins over Indiana on Monday and Illinois on Thursday, as well as the loss to Maryland on Sunday.

“In my opinion, they’ve got the best player in our league and his name isn’t (E.J.) Liddell,” Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood said after Thursday’s game. “That’s no offense, because he’s terrific. Malaki Branham is terrific. That young man’s pretty special.”

Branham was also named the conference’s freshman of the week on Jan. 3 after he scored a career-high 35 points in a win at Nebraska, as well as on Jan. 10 to cap a week in which he averaged 18.5 points per game.

In Thursday's victory, Branham became the first freshman in school history to score 30-plus points in multiple road games. He’s also the fourth freshmen to top that mark in multiple games – regardless of location – joining former guard Michael Redd in 1997-98, forward Jared Sullinger in 2010-11 and guard D’Angelo Russell in 2014-15.

“His maturity level’s elevated,” head coach Chris Holtmann said after the win over the Hoosiers. “I’ve said that all along. He’s one of the most mature freshmen I’ve ever coached across the board. Really high maturity level, and some of that’s with his IQ and feel for the game, which has really grown.

“If you saw us (at the Fort Myers Tip-Off) in Florida, you’d say he’s a completely different player. He is completely different. He’s worked at it, he’s taken coaching, he’s taken criticism and found a way to get better.”

Branham is averaging 12.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 44.1 percent from the three-point line in 26 games, including 25 starts, this season. His is the first Buckeye to be named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times in one season since Russell.

Branham will have one more opportunity to win the honor, as Ohio State closes out the regular season with three straight home games against Nebraska on Tuesday (7 p.m. on BTN), Michigan State on Thursday (7 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN2) and Michigan on Sunday (12:30 p.m. on FOX).

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