Gordon Hayward Named Horizon League Player of the Week

Butler sophomore Gordon Hayward, who helped the Bulldogs wrap up a fourth consecutive league regular season championship, has been named Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 14.  It’s the third time this season that he’s been honored by the league.

Hayward averaged 16.3 points and 11.7 rebounds in Butler’s victories over Loyola, Youngstown State and Cleveland State last week.  He had eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, one blocked shot and a steal against Loyola to help Butler clinch a share of the league regular season title, and then he posted 22 points and a career-high 17 rebounds against Youngstown State to give the Bulldogs outright possession of the crown.

Hayward finished the week with 19 points and 11 rebounds against second place Cleveland State.  For the week, Hayward shot 53% (17 of 32) from the floor and 92% (12 of 13) from the free throw line.

The Brownsburg, Ind., native ranks fourth in the Horizon League in scoring with a 16.0 average, and third in the league in rebounding with an 8.3 mark.  He’s the only player to rank among the top five individuals in both categories.

Butler (23-4, 16-0 Horizon League) has tied the school record for consecutive wins (15) and now owns the nation’s longest active winning streak, heading into home games this week against UIC on Wednesday (7 p.m., WNDY-TV) and Siena on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN2).  The Bulldogs are only the second Horizon League team to own a 16-0 record in conference play, joining Green Bay, which finished with a perfect 16-0 record in 1995-96.

(Photo by Ben Hornstein)