BOSTON – Penn State senior forward Lamar Stevens was named the Lute Olson National Player of the Week on Monday, Feb. 10. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, product helped lead the Nittany Lions to two victories this week, scoring a career-best 33 points to lead the Lions to their 18th win of the season in front of a sold-out crowd at the Bryce Jordan Center Saturday.
Penn State's No. 3 scorer all-time and ranked No. 5 on the career rebounds list, Stevens averaged 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 38.0 minutes per game in the Nittany Lions' two wins. He scored 16 of his 33 points vs. Minnesota in the second half for Penn State's sixth-straight Big Ten Conference win, its longest Big Ten win streak in program history. He was the top scorer in the final 4:07 of the game with seven points.
In the win at No. 16 Michigan State, Stevens scored 13 points in the second half, including going 4-4 from the foul line in the game's final 16 seconds. Stevens also grabbed seven rebounds, six in the second half, and handed out three assists to help the Nittany Lions to third consecutive Big Ten road win.
The award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.
Olson is one of just 25 head coaches in NCAA history to win 700 or more games (all divisions) and ranks ninth on the Division I career victories list. He finished with a winning percentage of .731 and is the all-time winningest coach in Arizona history with 587-190 record (.755). He was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times. Olson also guided Arizona to 20 consecutive 20-win seasons, and is one of only three coaches in NCAA history to record 29 or more 20-win seasons.
Penn State travels to Purdue on Tuesday, Feb. 11, for its next Big Ten matchup before returning to the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, Feb. 15 vs. Northwestern. Both games will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
For more information about single-game tickets for Penn State's remaining four home games, visit the online ticket information page or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
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