Naismith got it wrong.
A week after getting snubbed as a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award, Michigan State junior center Xavier Tillman Sr. was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Tillman Sr. averaged 2.1 blocks and 1.2 steals per game on the defensive side of the floor this year. Those stats ranked 4th and 7th in the conference respectively. No other player in the conference ranked top ten in both categories. His 10.3 rebounds per game ranked third in the conference.
More than that, Tillman Sr. regularly shut down opposing big men within the conference, including some of the top players in all of college basketball. He held Big Ten Player of the Year Luka Garza just one field goal in the second half of MSU’s 78-70 win over Iowa. On Senior Day and with the Big Ten title on the line Tillman Sr. held Ohio State’s Kaleb Wesson to 8 points on 1-8 shooting from the floor. Minnesota star center Daniel Oturu had two of his worst games of the season squared up against Tillman Sr.
Tillman is the fifth Spartan to win Defensive Player of the Year. Joining Jaren Jackson Jr. (2018), Travis Walton (2009), Eric Snow (1995), and Ken Redfield (1990).
Tillman Sr. was also named second-team All-Big Ten.
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