Northwestern University Athletics
Coble Named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week
1/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern junior forward Kevin Coble has been named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week the conference office announced Monday. It is the first such honor of Coble's career and the second time this season a Wildcat player has been recognized. Craig Moore picked up the award Nov. 24.
Coble shares this week's honor with Jamelle Cornley of Penn State.
A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Coble averaged 26 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game in NU's two contests last week. He was instrumental in the Wildcats' milestone 70-63 win at No. 7 Michigan State on Wednesday, recording a season-high 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and an 8-for-9 effort from the free throw line. He also had four steals in the contest as Northwestern forced 18 turnovers by the Spartans.
The 31 points are the most by a Big Ten player in conference action this year and tie Moore for the most points by a Big Ten player in any game this season. Moore tallied 31 points for the Wildcats Nov. 22 at Brown.
It was NU's first win at Michigan State in 25 years, the team's first victory over a top-10 opponent in 15 years and its first road win over a top-10 team in 56 years. The win also snapped the Spartans' 28-game home winning streak and 80-game home win streak against non-ranked opponents. Coupled with the team's Jan. 18 win over No. 18 Minnesota, it also gave Northwestern consecutive wins over ranked foes for the first time in school history.
Coble followed up Wednesday's performance by having a solid all-around effort Saturday at Michigan, notching 21 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
He leads Northwestern (10-7, 2-5 Big Ten) with averages of 15.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season. In Big Ten play, Coble ranks second in the conference with a norm of 17.9 points per contest, trailing only Kalin Lucas of Michigan State (18.0). He also paces the Big Ten in league action with an average of 2.29 steals per game.
Northwestern returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when it hosts Indiana at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
