Maryland’s Bruno Fernando named Big Ten Freshman of the Week

Maryland’s Bruno Fernando started off 2018 on a strong note, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the first week of January.

Fernando had his best week in a Maryland uniform, as the Terps went 2-1 in conference competition. He averaged 15 points and 8.3 rebounds in almost 30 minutes per game over the three games.

Fernando started the week by posting his first career double-double, with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds against Penn State on Tuesday. He capped it off with a career-high 21 points—and soooo many dunks—in a win over Iowa on Sunday. More impressively he managed to stay out of foul trouble for the entirety of both of those games.

In between the wins, he posted seven points and seven rebounds in a loss against then-No. 1 Michigan State on Thursday, after getting in foul trouble early.

Fernando’s now averaging 11 points and 6.5 rebounds a night, while also shooting 59.3 percent from the field, best of any Terp that takes at least five shots a game. The 6’10 Angolan is also Maryland’s leading shot-blocker, averaging 1.6 rejections per game, including this emphatic swat from the Iowa game.

With Justin Jackson and Ivan Bender both shelved for the season, the Terps will need more weeks like this from the big man. Both Maryland freshmen have now earned Freshman of the Week honors, after Darryl Morsell was awarded the honor in November.