INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Missouri State guard Isiaih Mosley as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 23.
As the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, Mosley was nominated for the weekly award, which was chosen by a representative of the USBWA board of directors from a list of Division I conference players of the week. Mosley earned the MVC's weekly award for a third straight week, the first player to do so since Bradley's Hersey Hawkins in the 1987-88 season. Once again, the USBWA will select a Division I men's National Player of the Week each Tuesday throughout the season. The USBWA has named Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week since the 2009-10 season.
A 6-5 junior from Columbia, Mo., Mosley led the Bears to a pair of conference wins last week including the team's first win over a ranked foe in more than a decade · with 40 points, eight rebounds and a pair of assists in the 79-69 win at No. 22 Loyola the past Saturday. He was 14-for-22 from the field with three 3-pointers and 9-of-11 at the free throw line and scored 11 points in a 14-3 second-half run that put Missouri State up by 20 and eventually snapped Loyola's 30-game home win streak.
Earlier in the week, Mosley scored 22 points in the second half and finished with 24 to lead his team to an 88-63 win over Illinois State. He was 7-for-11 from the field and 9-for-9 at the stripe against on Wednesday night.
For the week, Mosley averaged 32.0 points, shot 63.6 percent from the field (21-for-33) and made 18-of-20 (.900) free throws with 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, while moving up to 17th on the program's career scoring list. Mosley has scored 172 points over a recent five-game swing (34.4 ppg) the fifth-most in Division I basketball over the last five seasons. In that span, he has shot 62.5 percent from the field four 30-point and two 40-point games.
Mosley is the second Missouri State player to earn this honor from the USBWA, joining Kyle Weems from back in the week ending Jan. 1, 2012, and is the first winner from the MVC since the week ending Feb. 1, 2015, when Seth Tuttle of Northern Iowa was recognized.
The Bears, 15-6 overall and 6-2 in the MVC, play at Indiana State tonight at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN-Plus.
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 Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
2021-22 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
Week ending Dec. 12: Bennedict Mathurin, Arizona (Pac-12
Conference)
· Week ending Dec. 19: Alondes
Williams, Wake Forest (Atlantic Coast Conference)
·
Week ending Dec. 26: Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky (Southeastern
Conference)
· Week ending Jan. 2: Walker Kessler,
Auburn (Southeastern Conference)
· Week ending
Jan. 9: Johnny Davis, Wisconsin (Big Ten Conference)
·
Week ending Jan. 16: Armando Bacot, North Carolina
(Atlantic Coast Conference)
· Week ending Jan.
23: Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State (Missouri Valley Conference)
·
Week ending Jan. 30: Bryce Hamilton, UNLV (Mountain
West Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 6: Hunter
Maldonado, Wyoming (Mountain West Conference)
·
Week ending Feb. 13: KJ Williams, Murray State (Ohio
Valley Conference)
· Week ending Feb. 20: Julian
Champagnie, St. John's (Big East Conference)
·
Week ending Feb. 27: KJ Williams, Murray State (Ohio
Valley Conference)
· Week ending March 6: Jaime
Jaquez Jr., UCLA (Pac-12 Conference)