Williams Named First Team All-Big Ten

Nebraska senior guard Brice Williams became the first Husker men’s basketball player since 2018 to earn first-team all-conference honors as the Big Ten Conference announced its All-Big Ten teams on Tuesday.

Williams, a 6-foot-7 guard from Huntersville, N.C., earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and the media, as he averaged a league-high 20.7 points per game along with 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in Big Ten play. The senior became the first Husker since 2014 to lead the conference in scoring in conference play and just the sixth Husker in more than a century to lead a conference in scoring in conference play.

Williams not only led NU in scoring but ranked among the conference leaders in free throw percentage (.875, sixth), minutes played (36.3, fifth and free throws made (4.9, third) and attempted (5.6, sixth) per game. Williams led Nebraska in assists and 3-pointers (38) and was second in steals (22) and rebounds (88) in conference games.  He had a conference-leading 12 games with 20-or-more points, highlighted by a school-record 43-point effort at Ohio State on March 4.

Prior to this season, James Palmer Jr. was NU’s most recent first-team All-Big Ten selection, as he honored in 2018.  Williams, Braden Smith (Purdue), Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue) and John Tonje (Wisconsin were first-team picks by both the conference coaches and media, while the other first-team spot was split between Maryland’s Derik Queen (coaches) and Michigan’s Vladislav Goldin (media).

Rollie Worster was the other Husker honored Tuesday, as he was Nebraska’s Sportsmanship Award nominee for his efforts on and off the court. Worster has appeared in 31 games, including 25 starts, and averaged 7.0 points, and 2.6 assists per game. He was second on the team in assists and had a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

2023-24 All-Big Ten Men’s Basketball Honors
As selected by Big Ten Coaches
 
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Braden Smith, Purdue
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Derik Queen, Maryland
 
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Will Riley, Illinois
 
CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR
Tom Izzo, Michigan State

HOWARD MOORE ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Doug Wojcik, Michigan State

FIRST TEAM
Derik Queen, Maryland

Brice Williams, Nebraska

TREY KAUFMAN-RENN, Purdue

BRADEN SMITH, Purdue

JOHN TONJE, Wisconsin
 
SECOND TEAM
Vladislav Goldin, Michigan

Danny Wolf, Michigan

Dawson Garcia, Minnesota

Nick Martinelli, Northwestern

Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
 
THIRD TEAM*
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois

Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Maryland

Jaden Akins, Michigan State

Jase Richardson, Michigan State

Nate Bittle, Oregon

Jackson Shelstad, Oregon

Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA
 
HONORABLE MENTION
Oumar Ballo, Indiana

Payton Sandfort, Iowa

Julian Reese, Maryland

Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State

Ace Bailey, Rutgers

Dylan Harper, Rutgers

John Blackwell, Wisconsin
 
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois

DERIK QUEEN, Maryland

Jase Richardson, Michigan State

Ace Bailey, Rutgers

Dylan Harper, Rutgers
 
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Jaden Akins, Michigan State

TJ Bamba, Oregon

Nate Bittle, Oregon

Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State

Kobe Johnson, UCLA
 
2024-25 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Ben Humrichous, ILL; Anthony Leal, IND, Ladji Dembele, IOWA; Selton Miguel, MD; Nimari Burnett, MICH; Nick Sanders, MSU; Kadyn Betts, MINN; Rollie Worster, NEB; Brooks Barnhizer, NU; James Cooper, ORE; Kalen Etzler, OSU; Puff Johnson, PSU; Caleb Furst, PUR; Zach Martini, RU; Lazar Stefanovic, UCLA; Harrison Hornery, USC; Wilhelm Breidenbach, WASH; Markus Ilver, WIS.

2024-25 All-Big Ten Men’s Basketball Honors
As selected by Media Voting Panel

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Braden Smith, Purdue
 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Derik Queen, Maryland
 
COACH OF THE YEAR
Tom Izzo, Michigan State

 
FIRST TEAM
Vladislav Goldin, Michigan

Brice Williams, Nebraska

Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue

BRADEN SMITH, Purdue

JOHN TONJE, Wisconsin
 
SECOND TEAM
Derik Queen, Maryland

Danny Wolf, Michigan

Dawson Garcia, Minnesota

Nick Martinelli, Northwestern

Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
 
THIRD TEAM
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois

Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Maryland

Jase Richardson, Michigan State

Ace Bailey, Rutgers

Dylan Harper, Rutgers
 
HONORABLE MENTION
Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois

Malik Reneau, Indiana

Oumar Ballo, Indiana

Payton Sandfort, Iowa

Julian Reese, Maryland

Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern

Nate Bittle, Oregon

Jackson Shelstad, Oregon

Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State

Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State

Fletcher Loyer, Purdue

Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA

Desmond Claude, USC

Great Osobor, Washington

John Blackwell, Wisconsin

Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
*Additional honorees due to ties