MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior P.J. Haggerty earned his first career Big 12 Player of the Week award on Monday afternoon after averaging 31.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists in helping Kansas State to a 2-1 record and a runner-up finish at the Hall of Fame Classic.
Haggerty was joined on this week’s Starting Five by Arizona’s Jaden Bradley and Koa Peat, UCF’s Jamichael Stillwell and Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey.
Haggerty averaged 31.7 points on 57.6 percent (34-of-59) shooting, including 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from 3-point range, and 88 percent (22-of-25) from the free throw line to go with 7.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.6 minutes per game in victories over Tulsa (85-84) and Mississippi State (98-77) and a narrow loss to Nebraska (86-85). He posted back-to-back 30-point games against Tulsa and MSU, including a season-high 37 points in the win over the Bulldogs.
Haggerty is the first Wildcat to open a season with 6 consecutive games of 20 or more points, while his 168 points are the most by a player in that span. He is the first player to post consecutive 30-point performances since Markquis Nowell (vs. Texas and Baylor) in January 2023.
Haggerty opened the week by posting a rare 30-point, 10-rebound double-double against Tulsa on Nov. 17, as he poured in 31 points on 10-of-17 field goals and 11-of-12 free throws to go with a career-tying 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes. He is the first Wildcat to post such a double-double since Michael Beasley had 33 points and 14 rebounds against Colorado on March 4, 2008. His 27 second-half points are the fifth-most in any half and the most since 2009.
It was his fourth career double-double and his second in a Wildcat uniform.
Haggerty became the first Wildcat to post a stat line of 30 or more points, 5 or more rebounds and 5 or more assists in the win over Mississippi State to open the Hall of Fame Classic on Nov. 20, as he scored a season-high 37 points on 13-of-21 field goals, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and 7-of-8 free throws to go with a game-high 8 assists and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes. It was the most points by a K-State player in 49 career games played at the T-Mobile Center and the most over since Barry Brown Jr’s 38 points against Oklahoma State on Jan. 10, 2018.
Haggerty capped the week with 27 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in a heartbreaking 86-85 loss to unbeaten Nebraska in the Hall of Fame Classic Championship game. He tied the game at 85-all on a layup with 27 seconds left before the Cornhuskers converted on the game-winning free throw with .06 seconds left on the clock.