Miles Bridges, Jaren Jackson headline SB Nation All-Big Ten awards

With a team as talented as this season’s Michigan State Spartans, and with as much success as the team has had, there is no wonder the honors are rolling in. Monday, writers from the Big Ten SB Nation sites released their votes for the All-Big Ten teams, and there were plenty of Spartans.

Not surprisingly, the two biggest names on the team were honored the most. Miles Bridges was named to the first-team All-Big Ten. Bridges earned 52 of a possible 57 points. This is a big jump even from last year, when Bridges was named to the second team.

Cassius Winston was the lone representative for the Spartans on the second team. The point guard received 28 points, just one ahead of Indiana’s Juwan Morgan for the final spot on the second team. Nick Ward fell just short of the third team, with the second most points among the honorable mention group. He also earned multiple Sixth Man votes, which is confusing considering he’s started 30 of the 31 games this season.

The most decorated Spartan may also have been the most surprising, all things considered. Jaren Jackson Jr. was the near unanimous Freshman of the Year, getting 15 of the 19 votes. He was also named the Defensive Player of the Year by a somewhat wide margin. Obviously, he was deserving of both – he’s one of the best shot-blockers in the country and changes how opponents run an offense. He can also score from almost any part of the court.

However, despite all of that, he was only named to the third-team All-Big Ten. And he just barely made it, Jackson had the second lowest point total of anyone on the third team.

Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop earned a near unanimous Player of the Year honor, no one from MSU received a vote. Similarly, Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann was the unanimous Coach of the Year.

For full results, click here.