BOSTON, Ma. – Akron senior guard Loren Cristian Jackson was named the Lute Olson National Player of the Week, CollegeInsider.com announced after Jackson garnered a second-straight Mid-American Conference Player of the Week award on Monday, Jan. 4.
Jackson led the Zips to a 2-0 start in league play with 31 points and six assists en route to defeating Akron's archrival Kent State on New Year's Day, 66-62.
The CBS Sports Network game was originally scheduled for an Akron and Buffalo matchup, but the Zips' opponent changed to Central Michigan due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than 30 hours before the game, Thursday, Dec. 31 at 3 p.m., the MAC issued another late change in opponents which forced Akron to prepare for its first rivalry game of the season against Kent State.
Jackson answered the challenge and kept fighting until the rest of the squad found their stride. Both sides took double-digit leads, only to have the other side battle back into the game. Still, in every big moment, it was the reining MAC Player of the Year who made the difference as Jackson sank big shot after big shot.
Jackson scored Akron's first 16 points of the game, firing away from deep to help keep his squad close. The first Akron basket by someone other than Jackson came with 5:12 left in the opening half. Jackson finished the half with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor, including a 4-of-9 effort from deep.
When he wasn't scoring, Jackson was still the fuse that ignited Akron's offense, assisting on a layup by Camron Reece and a 3-pointer by Mikal Dawson early in the second half as part of a 10-0 run that tied the contest at 37-all, with the senior guard delivering the game-evening hoop on a driving layup that prompted a Kent State timeout.
From there, Jackson scored or assisted on the Zips final 21-of-29 points of the game. He buried three triples and added four free throws for 13 points and assisted a pair of 3-pointers after causing the defense to collapse in the lane. In addition, he dropped another dime to the post from the top of the key.
Jackson finished the game shooting 9-of-23 from the field, including an impressive 50 percent showing from deep. Jackson drained seven triples and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Jackson added a pair of rebounds and a steal in the winning effort.
Last season, Jackson earned the Lou Henson Award National Player of the Week honors from CollegeIndider.com and was named to the Lou Henson All-America Team, which are accolades distributed to the top mid-major players in the country.
In December 2020, CollegeInsider.com announced the preseason Lou Henson Award watch list for the 2020-21 season, and Jackson appeared on the list.
Both awards, Lute Olson and Lou Henson, issue a mid-season watch list in sometime January, and Jackson will be a member of both watch lists. Jackson is the second recipient of the Lute Olson Award National Player of the Week in the MAC, Toledo's Marreon Jackson earned the honors on Dec. 21, 2020.
The Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.
Olson is one of just 25 head coaches in NCAA history to win 700 or more games (all divisions) and ranks ninth on the Division I career victories list. He finished with a winning percentage of .731 and is the all-time winningest coach in Arizona history with 587-190 record (.755). He was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times. Olson also guided Arizona to 20 consecutive 20-win seasons, and is one of only three coaches in NCAA history to record 29 or more 20-win seasons.
The Zips are 4-1 overall and 2-0 in MAC play, as Jackson leads the league in scoring (25.4 pts/g), assists (8.0 ast/g), 3-point field goals made per game (3.8 3pt fg/g) and assist turnover ratio 3.64 with 40 assists and 11 turnovers to date.
In the national rankings, Jackson is ranked in the NCAA Division I Top 20 players in five categories. He is ranked No. 5 in points per game, No. 5 in assists per game, No. 9 3-point field goals made per game, No. 12 in free throw percentage (96.8), and No. 19 in assist turnover ratio.
