Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji named Big 12 men’s hoops player of the week

By Matt Tait Nov 15, 2021

Nick Krug

Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji (30) pulls back for a bucket and a foul from Tarleton State guard Tahj Small (4) during the first half on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas senior Ochai Agbaji has been named the men’s basketball Big 12 Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

The award is selected by a media panel which covers the league and this is the first weekly honor of the 2021-22 season.

Agbaji opened the season with a career-high 29 points in the Jayhawks’ 87-74 win against Michigan State in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 9.

The Kansas City, Mo., native who has now started 79 consecutive games for the Jayhawks followed up that performance by scoring 25 points in KU’s 88-62 win over Tarleton State in the home opener on Nov. 12.

Agbaji’s 54 points were the most scored by a Jayhawk in the first two games of a season in the Bill Self era. He surpassed Frank Mason III’s 51 points, which came to open the 2016-17 campaign.

The two 20-point efforts marked the eighth and ninth 20-point efforts of Agbaji’s career.

Agbaji’s most recent weekly Big 12 honor was the second of his career. He also was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 4, 2019, during his freshman season.

Agbaji will look to make it three straight 20-point outings and three straight KU victories on Thursday when the third-ranked Jayhawks (2-0) play host to Stony Brook (0-1) at Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Oklahoma forward Tanner Groves, who faced Agbaji and the Jayhawks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year with Eastern Washington, was this week’s Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.

Notebook: KU football freshman RB Devin Neal named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week

86093Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji named Big 12 men’s hoops player of the week

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.