Kansas State Athletics

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Sophomore Marcus Foster earned both ESPN.com National Player of the Week and Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week honors on Monday after helping K-State to a pair of Big 12 wins last week.

Foster collects his first career Big 12 Player of the Week honor after winning Rookie of the Week distinction twice as a true freshman in 2013-14. He was also twice named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Week last season. He is the second Wildcat this season to earn the Big 12 accolade, following Nino Williams on Dec. 15, 2014. Overall, it marks the school’s 23rd league Player of the Week honor since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997.

Foster averaged 18.5 points on 50 percent shooting (11-of-22), including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from 3-point range, in 25 minutes per game in helping the Wildcats to a home win over TCU (58-53) and a road victory over No. 16/18 Oklahoma (66-63) in overtime. He also shot a stellar 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free throw line. He has now scored in double figures in 39 of his 49 career games, including 12 this season.

Following his first scoreless game, Foster came back in the Wildcats’ first Big 12 win against TCU on Jan. 7, as he scored a game-high 23 points on 5-of-11 field goals, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, with one rebound and one assist in 29 minutes in his first game off the bench. He also knocked down 10-of-12 from the free throw line, including 9-of-10 in the final five minutes. It was his 12th career 20-point game and fourth of the season.

Foster scored nine of his 14 points in the win over Oklahoma on Saturday in the last 35 seconds of regular and overtime to help the Wildcats claim their first win over a ranked team on the road since 2012. He scored the final four points of regulation, including a lay-up with 6 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 55-all then hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left in overtime. He went 6-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, with one rebound and one assist in just 21 minutes.

Foster leads the Big 12 in eight categories, including scoring (13.7 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (12), 20-point games (4), field goals (71), field goals attempted (163), 3-point field goals (43), 3-point field goals attempted (95) and minutes (28.0). He also ranks among the Big 12’s Top 15 in scoring (6th), field goal percentage (13th), 3-point field goal percentage (2nd) and 3-point field goals made (4th).

K-State (9-7, 2-1 Big 12) returns to action on Wednesday for the first of back-to-back home games this week, as the Wildcats host Texas Tech (10-6, 0-3 Big 12) at Bramlage Coliseum. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will air nationally on ESPNews.