Valparaiso University men’s basketball sophomore Ben Krikke (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada / Jasper Place) was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week by the league office on Tuesday.

Krikke’s week was highlighted by a 25-point, 15-rebound effort in Sunday’s win at Illinois State, a performance that helped Valpo secure a two-game road sweep against the Redbirds. Krikke averaged a team-high 13.7 points per game over three contests this week while sharing the team lead in rebounding during the three-game stretch at 7.3 boards per outing.

Krikke also became the first Missouri Valley Conference player to post a line of 25&15 in over four years. In addition, the left-handed forward became just the third Valpo player with a 25-point, 15-rebound effort in the last 25 seasons, joining Alec Peters (x3) and Dan Oppland. His 25 points and 15 rebounds on Sunday both represented career highs.

The Edmonton native enjoyed a second-half burst to finish with 12 points in Wednesday’s game vs. Loyola. Foul trouble limited him to a season-low scoring output on Saturday at Illinois State before he bounced back in a big way to propel his team to Sunday’s win.

Krikke becomes the first Valpo player to win an MVC weekly award this season, in the process garnering the first such honor in his young collegiate career. Valpo’s most recent weekly award came courtesy of Donovan Clay (Alton, Ill. / Alton), who was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week for the final week of the 2019-20 regular season.

Valpo will attempt to extend its winning streak to three on Thursday night at 6 p.m. as Bradley comes to the Athletics-Recreation Center for a rematch of last season’s MVC title game. The game will be carried on ESPN3 as a conference-selected broadcast with Jordan Bernfield and David Kaplan describing the action. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.