Baylor MBB’s Butler honored by NCAA, Naismith Trophy and Big 12
WACO, Texas – Baylor junior guard Jared Butler was honored with a trio of weekly awards on Monday after leading the Bears to wins against No. 9 Kansas and at Oklahoma State.
Butler was named NCAA National Player of the Week, Naismith Trophy Player of the Week and Big 12 Conference Player of the Week. He averaged 26.0 points and 7.0 assists, while shooting 66.7 percent (18-27) from the field, including 81 percent (13-16) from the 3-point line.
Butler posted 30 points and eight assists and made 7-of-9 from 3-point range in Monday’s win against Kansas, joining Texas’ Kevin Durant as the only players in Big 12 history to have multiple 30-point games against the Jayhawks. He recorded 22 points and six assists and made 5-of-6 from 3-point range Saturday at OSU to help the Bears erase their largest deficit of the season (nine points) and pull away for a 15-point win.
The Reserve, La., native took over midway through the second half in Saturday’s win at OSU, returning to the game with the score tied 50-50 and 11:38 remaining. He quickly assisted on consecutive field goals, then made 3-pointers on three straight possessions to give the Bears a 12-point lead with 8:34 remaining. BU would lead by double-digits the rest of the way to extend their winning streak to 14 games and remain the nation’s only team to win every game this season by 8+ points.
Butler leads the Big 12 in steals (2.3), 3-point percentage (.494) and 3-pointers made (2.9), ranks third in scoring (17.1), second in assists (5.4), second in field goal percentage (.503) and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.90). He’s tied for the Big 12 lead with four games of 20-plus points in conference play and ranks second in the league with five 20-point games on the season. He also recorded 13 assists in Baylor’s win at Kansas State on Dec. 19, the most by any player in a Big 12 game since Oklahoma’s Trae Young had 14 at Texas in 2018.
Butler moved up to 27th on Baylor's all-time scoring list with 1,067 career points, passing Arthur Edwards (1,062), Jerry Mallett (1,053), Winston Moore (1,046), Kelvin Chalmers (1,045) and Don Heathington (1,040). He needs 38 more points to pass Roddrick Miller (1,094) and William Chatmon (1,104) and climb into Baylor’s all-time top 25 scorers.
The Big 12 Player of the Week award is the fourth conference weekly honor of Butler’s career and the third time he’s been named the league’s Player of the Week. He was previously recognized as Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 25, 2019 and was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Nov. 25, 2019 and Jan. 13, 2020. His three Big 12 Player of the Week honors are tied for second-most in school history, trailing only the four awards won by Johnathan Motley in 2016 and 2017.
Baylor returns to action Wednesday when the Bears host Kansas State at the Ferrell Center for the 94th anniversary Immortal Ten Game. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2. The Bears then host Auburn at 1 or 3 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN for the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge. Follow @BaylorMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates throughout the year.
2021 BIG 12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Nov. 30 - Derek Culver, West Virginia
Dec. 7 – Matt Coleman III, Texas
Dec. 14 - RJ Nembhard, TCU
Dec. 21 – Kevin Samuel, TCU
Dec. 28 – Christian Braun, Kansas
Jan. 4 – Umoja Gibson, Oklahoma
Jan. 11 – Andrew Jones, Texas
Jan. 18 – Mac McClung, Texas Tech
Jan. 25 – Jared Butler, Baylor