By Danielle Daniels

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Dylan Harper had a week for the record books.

Harper was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week following a historic weekly performance in a victory over Notre Dame in overtime on Tuesday and some tough losses to No. 9 Alabama, No. 20 Texas A&M, and Kennesaw State.

The freshman point guard from Franklin Lakes, N.J. scored a combined 122 points in the four games last week and now sits third in the nation in scoring with 23.8 points per game.

Harper won the award for the second time this season and it’s the sixth time a Rutgers freshman has been recognized as the Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week. Ron Harper Jr. (18-19), Geo Baker (17-18), and Corey Sanders (twice in 2015-16) were the other Scarlet Knights to receive the award.

Harper averaged 30.5 points per game and became the first freshman in 20 years to score 35-plus points in back-to-back games against Notre Dame and Alabama in Las Vegas. Those two games marked the two highest-scoring games for a freshman player this season (36 and 37). Harper became the first Rutgers player to score 30-plus points in back-to-back games since Quincy Douby on March 9, 2006, and made the most free throws for an RU player since Geoff Billet hit 15 in 1999 in the win over the Fighting Irish.

Harper won the award in two of three weeks and previously won after he was the Scarlet Knights leading scorer in both victories over Monmouth and Saint Peter’s. In the previous stretch, Harper matched RU’s all-time scoring leader Phil Sellers as the lone RU freshman to begin their career with three 20-plus point performances.

Harper and the (5-3) Scarlet Knights look to get back on track on the road on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the team’s first Big Ten action at noon in FS1.

COURTESY RUTGERS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS