Owen Freeman named Big Ten Freshman of the Week
Not even a chipped front tooth could slow down Owen Freeman on Sunday afternoon. The fabulous freshman from Moline, IL poured in 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in Iowa’s thrilling come from behind win over Minnesota at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
For his hard work, Freeman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the eighth time this season. The eight honors trail only Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger, who had 12 Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors during the 2010-11 season.
He earned the distinction after averaging 13 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, two assists and 1.5 steals last week in games against Penn State and Minnesota. He shot 65 percent from the field, making 11-of-17 field goals in the two games.
In Happy Valley, Freeman went 4-for-4 from the field en route to a nine-point scoring output. He also had two rebounds, two steals and a block.
He now has four double-doubles in his first year on the Iowa campus. On Sunday he also had a career best four assists to go along with four blocks.
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The four double-doubles are the most by a freshman in the Big Ten (and tied for the seventh most in the league) and match Luka Garza for the most by a Hawkeye freshman since 2017-18.
Freeman helped Iowa rally from a 20-point deficit with 16:11 left. It was the Hawkeyes’ largest second-half comeback since 1987.
This season, Freeman has been the best freshman in the Big Ten. He leads the conference in rebounds (151), blocks (41) and steals (26), while ranking second in points (261) and field goal percentage (.643). The 41 blocks are also the third-most by a freshman in the nation.
The honor is Iowa’s ninth Big Ten weekly accolade this season. Freeman previously earned the distinction on Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Dec. 4, Dec. 18, Jan. 8, Jan. 15 and Jan. 29, while graduate Ben Krikke was the Big Ten Player of the Week on Nov. 20.
