Adam Ballinger Named Big Ten Co-Player Of The Week
2/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Big Ten Conference announced on Monday that Adam Ballinger (Bluffton, Ind./Bluffton H.S.) was named men's basketball Big Ten Co-Player of the Week. In games against Minnesota and Indiana, the junior forward averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds, shooting 60.0 percent from the floor, including 66.7 percent from three-point range. Ballinger shares the weekly award with Illinois' Robert Archibald.
Against Minnesota on Feb. 21, Ballinger scored a career-best 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds. On Sunday, Feb. 24, Ballinger scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds as MSU defeated the 23rd-ranked Indiana Hoosiers. His three-point field goal with under one minute left, tied the MSU-Indiana game at 53. Against the Hoosiers, he was 5-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc.
For the season, Ballinger is averaging 11.3 points. He ranks third in the Big Ten in rebounding with 7.0 boards per game. His field-goal percentage of .548 ranks seventh in the conference. Ballinger is a key part of MSU's offense. Earlier this season, he missed four games with a severely sprained right ankle. With Ballinger in the starting lineup, the Spartans have a 15-6 record.
