Hinson Garners ACC & Multiple National Player of the Week Honors

PITTSBURGH – Senior forward Blake Hinson was named ACC Player of the Week for the second time this season, while also being named the Naismith, ESPN, and CollegeInsider.com Lute Olson National Player of the Week following his outstanding performance in wins at No. 21 Virginia and over Louisville. He averaged 34.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while going 25-of-43 (.581) from the field, including 14-of-26 (.538) from three-point range, in wins over No. 21 Virginia and Louisville.

Hinson scored a game-high 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field in a road win over No. 21 Virginia as Pitt snapped the Cavaliers 23-game home win steak as well as a 48-game streak of holding ACC opponents below 70 points at John Paul Jones Arena. He made five three-pointers in the game and was at his best down the stretch with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting (4-of-7 3FG) in the second half of action.

The Deltona, Fla., native closed the week with a remarkable performance that led to a standing ovation from the crowd when he excited the court with just over two minutes remaining. Hinson finished with 41 points, tied for third most in program history, and matched his own school record with nine threes in a home win over Louisville. He closed the night 14-of-24 from the field, including 9-of-13 from three-point range, in 34 minutes of action.

Hinson went nuclear in the opening 20 minutes, matching Louisville’s scoring total with 27 points (tied for the fourth most points scored in a half by a Pitt player). He passed the 1,000-point mark in the opening half in just his 61st game as a Panther to reach that plateau in the fourth fewest games in program history.

Other notes from Hinson’s 40-point night include:

• Posting the first 40-point game by an ACC player since Ky Bowman (Boston College) had 44 against Hartford Dec. 31, 2018. It was also the first 40+ point game in conference play since Jerome Robinson (Boston College) had 46 in a loss to Notre Dame Feb. 6, 2018.
• With nine three-point field goals against Louisville Hinson became just the 12th ACC player since the start of the 1992-93 season to make 90 or more in two or more seasons.
• Became just the fifth Pitt player to score 40 or more points in a game with his scoring efficiency (1.206 points per minute) ranking the best among Pitt’s seven 40-point games.

Hinson was also named ACC Player of the…