By: Eric Ball (BleacherReport.com) -

Junior forward Evan Turner averaged 23.5 points over two games last week to lead Ohio State to back-to-back wins over ranked opponents, as the Buckeyes defeated the sixth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers and the No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers. His prize? Big Ten Player of the Week.

During Tuesday’s contest at Purdue, Turner posted 23 of his career-high 32 points in the second half to ignite a late rally as OSU recovered from a 13-point deficit to top the Boilermakers, 70-66.

Ohio State is No. 21 in the Associated Press media poll and No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll that were released today.

With Turner in the lineup, Ohio State is 3-1 against the Associated Press Top 25 this season. In those contests, the 6′7 “guard is averaging 24.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, and shooting 58 percent from the floor.

This is the fourth Player of the Week award for Tuner on the year and his seventh overall.

If the Ohio State Buckeyes want to make any sort of noise in the NCAA tournament it will be because of Evan Turner.

After a promising start to the season, the entire Buckeye nation was slapped in the face when Turner landed roughly on his back after attempting a dunk. The early reports were that he would be out for eight weeks with a fractured back. It looked just as painful as it sounds.

But merely a month later Turner was back on the floor and picking up where he left off. The team struggled in his absence, going 3-3 ,with the wins against Presbyterian, Delaware St., and Cleveland St—not exactly the cream of the crop. Now that Turner is back, the Buckeyes are once again a force and Turner still isn’t even 100 percent yet.

For the season he is averaging 18.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists a game. He still has some issues to iron out, specifically his 28 percent mark from three-point range and his 4.2 turnovers a game. And is his back fully healed? Can a hard foul tweak it again?

He is the catalyst for the squad and makes the offense flow as smoothly as a waterfall. Whether it is a slam dunk, a tough board, or a steal on defense, Turner is the guy making all the big plays when it counts. But he can’t win it all himself.

Turner is going to need David Lighty, Jon Diebler, and William Buford to continue spreading the floor with their shooting. All three players are averaging 13.3 points a game and provide balance to the inside outside attack.

Turner is looking more and more like a lottery pick, and dominating the conference at this sort of pace will certainly garner Big Ten Player of the Year honors. His size and speed will make him a hot commodity to NBA scouts.

So this is the year OSU, be prepared to ride the achy back of Evan Turner into the tournament. He has proven to fans and players a like that he is up to the challenge.

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