Stauskas Named Big Ten's Freshman of the Week

PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- University of Michigan men's basketball freshman guard Nik Stauskas (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada/St. Mark's School [Mass.]) was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week today (Monday, Nov. 26) by the conference office. Stauskas earns his first career conference freshman of the week accolade.

Coming off the bench to help U-M win its first NIT Season Tip-Off title, Stauskas continued to impress, averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, shooting 50.0 percent (7-for-14) from the floor and 42.0 percent from long range (3-for-7) while going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

In the Wolverines' semifinal game against Pittsburgh (Nov. 21), Stauskas tied a career-high with 15 points, had five rebounds and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line as U-M came-from-behind for 67-62 win. In the championship game, Stauskas had 10 points, four rebounds and two key three-point field goals to help U-M defeat Kansas State (Nov. 23), 71-57, and claim the program's first NIT Season Tip-Off title.

For the season, Stauskas is averaging 11.6 points and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting 59.3 percent from the field (16-for-27), 58.8 percent (10-for-17) on three point field goals and 94.1 percent from the free throw line (16-for-17).

Stauskas and the rest of the Wolverines head back to Ann Arbor to host their 2012 Big Ten/ACC Challenge match-up against N.C. State (No. 16 AP, No. 15 ESPN/USA Today) on Tuesday (Nov. 27) at 7:30 p.m. at Crisler Center. The game will be televised on ESPN, and U-M's 2011-12 Big Ten regular-season championship banner will be unveiled in a pregame ceremony.