INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Oregon guard Payton Pritchard as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Dec. 15.
As the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week, Pritchard 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. 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.
Pritchard, a 6-2 senior from West Linn, Ore., scored 15 of Oregon's final 17 points to lead the Ducks to a 71-70 overtime win Saturday at Michigan. Pritchard led all scorers with 23 points, including 19 after halftime.
On the afternoon, he went 6-of-8 from the floor to score 13 points in the second half and 3-of-4 for six points in overtime to will the Ducks to victory after they led by as many as 16 points in the first half.
The win was Oregon's third top-15 victory this season, all of which have come away from home. The win over then-No. 5 Michigan marked the program's first regular season non-conference win over a top-five opponent; the previous best was an 86-73 win against No. 10 Providence on Jan. 4, 1975, in Eugene. It was also the program's first road win over a top-5 team since defeating No. 5 UCLA 65-45 on Feb. 21, 1976, in Pauley Pavilion, a win that snapped UCLA's 98-game home winning streak, the third-longest home winning streak in NCAA history.
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.