MANHATTAN — Kansas State junior Rodney McGruder followed up his most valuable player performance at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic with his first Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week award on Monday.
McGruder helped the Wildcats (10-1) capture their first regular-season tournament since 2006 with wins over Southern Illinois (83-58), Texas-El Paso (78-70) and Long Beach State (77-60) and their first ranking of the season.  He averaged 15 points on 64 percent shooting (16 of 25), including 44.4 percent (4 of 9) from three-point range, in the tournament with 6.0 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game.  He scored in double figures in two of the three contests, including a career-best 28 points in the championship game with the 49ers on Sunday.  
 McGruder opened the tournament with 13 points in a victory over the Salukis on Dec. 22, as he connected on 4 of 7 field goals to go with six rebounds, one block and one steal in 28 minutes of action.  He also went 3 of 4 from the free throw line.  He struggled from the field against the Miners in game two on Dec. 23 with just four points on 2-for-7 shooting.
With the tournament title on the line, McGruder came through with his best effort as a Wildcat, as he paced all players with a career-high 28 points against Long Beach State on Christmas Day.  He went a near perfect 10-of-11 from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range, to go with a 6 of 7 effort from the free-throw line.  He also added six rebounds and a steal in 25 minutes.  The 28 points surpassed his previous high of 24 against UMKC on Dec. 23, 2010, while it was his 20th career 20-point game and his third this season.
By making 10-of-11 field goals, he posted one of the best individual shooting nights in school history.  Only Joe Wright (11-of-11 vs. Oklahoma State on Jan. 23, 1985) and Eddie Elder (11-of-11 vs. Colorado on Feb. 23, 1985) had a better percentage in a game.