Maryland men’s basketball forward Bruno Fernando was named Big Ten Player of the Week after a pair of double-doubles against Minnesota and then-No. 22 Indiana, highlighted by a career-high 25 points in the 78-75 win over the Hoosiers.
Fernando was 16-of-22 from the field over the two games. That raised his shooting percentage this season to 68.5, which ranks third in the nation and would be a single-season Terps record.
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The 6-foot-10 sophomore was the conference Freshman of the Week twice last season but had never earned player of the week before Monday.
Fernando is averaging 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and has nine double-doubles this season. He would be the first Terp to average a double-double since Jordan Williams in 2010-11.
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Coach Mark Turgeon says he considers Fernando one of the most improved players in the country, as the big man has been a near-unstoppable force inside since going through the NBA draft process and electing to return for another year in College Park.
Fernando has battled frequent double-teams and improved his passing immensely. The Angola native is averaging 1.8 assists per game after having just 21 assists all season as a freshman.
