Purdue Basketball: Carsen Edwards deserves Big Ten POTY consideration

Sophomore guard Carsen Edwards put up one of the better stat lines of the season in Purdue’s victory over Illinois on Thursday.

The Purdue Boilermakers still don’t get the respect they deserve from the national media. Neither does their star guard, sophomore Carsen Edwards.

Nobody could ignore his performance on Thursday night, though.

The Texas native put up a whopping 40 points on the Illinois Fighting Illini in a 93-86 win. He shot .579 from the field, including 4-for-8 from three-point range, and made an incredible 14 of 16 free throw attempts.

Not only was it a career-high scoring night for Edwards, but it was the most points scored by a Purdue player since Glenn Robinson scored 44 in 1994.

At the very least, he needs to garner some consideration for Big Ten Player of the Year.

Last season, Edwards showed plenty of promise as a freshman, averaging 10.3 points per game. Matt Painter was going to need him to step up, however, if the Boilermakers were going to absorb the loss of Caleb Swanigan, who won the Big Ten Player of the Year award himself.

Edwards did more than simply step up; he ascended to star status. His numbers are up across the board, averaging 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. He’s shooting .468 from the field, including .398 from three-point range.

Most importantly, he has the Boilermakers tied for second place in the Big Ten, when they could’ve been due for a fall this season.

There are plenty of other deserving candidates for the award. Tony Carr single-handedly kept the Penn State Nittany Lions on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Keita Bates-Diop led a surprise season from the Ohio State Buckeyes. Miles Bridges played like Miles Bridges.

Heck, Edwards himself has a strong cast of characters around him.

Next: Updated Bracketology

But he’s the crown jewel of the Boilermakers. He needs to be at least considered the crown jewel of the conference as well.