Two Golden Gophers named to All-Big Ten Teams

Senior forward Trevor Mbakwe was named Third Team All-Big Ten by coaches and Second Team All-Big Ten by the media, and sophomore guard Andre Hollins was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention by coaches and Third Team All-Big Ten by the media, the conference announced today.

Mbakwe was selected to the second team by both coaches and media as a junior in 2010-11. This season, the St. Paul native led the Big Ten in rebounding for the second time, averaging 8.7 rebounds, including a league-leading 3.3 offensive rebounds per game. In conference play, he led all players with 9.8 rebounds per contest.

Mbakwe also ranked third in field goal percentage (.566) and blocks per game (1.5). He earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors on March 4 for his performances against Indiana (21 points and 12 rebounds) and Penn State (13 points and 13 rebounds).

He currently ranks 10th all-time on Minnesota’s career rebounding average list with an average of 9.6. He is one of only four Gophers to lead the conference in rebounding in a season.

Hollins was 10th on the Big Ten scoring list this season, averaging 13.9 points per game. The Memphis native and starting point guard was one of the top three-point threats in the conference. He ranked sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.401) and seventh in average three-pointers per game (2.2).

Hollins shot 80-percent from the free throw line, good for seventh in the conference. He also averaged 3.5 assists per game. Like Mbakwe, Hollins received recognition as Big Ten Player of the Week once this season (Nov. 6), honoring his 41-point game against Memphis and game-winning free throws against Stanford in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Hollins was also named Minnesota’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Michigan’s Trey Burke was voted Player of the Year by both coaches and the media. Michigan’s Tim Hardaway Jr., Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas and Indiana teammates Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller join Burke on the coaches’ list. The media chose four of the same players, with Ohio State’s Aaron Craft in place of Hardaway on their list.

First-team selection Oladipo was also selected as Defensive Player of the Year. Gary Harris of Michigan State was tabbed as Freshman of the Year. Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan was named Coach of the Year.

The Gophers will open Big Ten Tournament play against Illinois on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. CT at the United Center in Chicago. The winner of that game will face top-seeded Indiana on Friday at 11:00 a.m.