Moussa Cisse Tabbed Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State junior big man Moussa Cisse was one of 10 players tabbed a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist on Tuesday.

Cisse is joined by fellow Big 12 play Kevin McCullar Jr. from Kansas. Also on the list is Northwestern G Chase Audige, UCLA G Jaylen Clark, Purdue C Zach Edey, Indiana F Trayce Jackson-Davis, Creighton C Ryan Kalkbrenner, Rutgers G Caleb McConnell, Houston G Marcus Sasser and Tennessee Zakai Zeigler.

Despite missing multiple games in the middle of the season due to an ankle sprain, Cisse still leads the Big 12 in blocks with 51 on the season and is second in the conference in rebounds per game with 7.9.

The next closest player in blocks is Dylan Disu with 39. Cisse is also fifth in the conference in defensive rebounds with 146, an average of 5.6 per game. He’s also seventh in the conference with 60 offensive boards per game.

His 51 blocks are tied for No. 37 nationally.

It’s unclear if Cisse will play this coming Saturday against Texas Tech down in Lubbock as he went down hard with an apparent ankle injury late in the game against Baylor. Mike Boynton told the media after the game it was Cisse who demanded to go back into the game and finish, but you could tell he was in a lot of discomfort getting up and down the court. An update should be available on his status later in the week.