MSU forward Max Christie practices his shooting during fall camp/ Photo Credit: MSU Athletic Communications
EAST LANSING, Mich—Michigan State men’s basketball freshman forward Max Christie was named as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time this season following a pair of impressive wins for the Spartans.
Christie, a 6-foot-6 guard from Arlington Heights, Illinois, averaged 8.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in MSU’s two conference wins over Minnesota and Penn State.
In MSU’s 75-67 win over Minnesota on Dec. 8, he scored nine points to go along with three steals, five rebounds and a career-high three blocks in 33 minutes of action. His strong wing defense also shut down the Golden Gopher 3-point shooting attack; Minnesota was only 6-for-23 from deep last Wednesday.
Following the wire-to-wire road victory, the Spartans hosted Penn State on Saturday, and Christie came up big on the defensive end yet again (the Nittany Lions shot 5-for-20 from 3-point range). He also added seven points and two rebounds in 25 minutes as the Spartans won 80-64 and improved to 9-2 on the season and 2-0 in Big Ten play.
This is Christie’s second consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week award after he was named Co-Freshman last week alongside Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn. Through 11 games, Christie is averaging 8.7 points per game and 3.2 rebounds despite only shooting 33.3% from the floor and 26% from deep.