The Racers have won six OVC weekly honors this season with Payne's four and two from teammate Jarvis Williams.
The OVC Preseason Player of the Year helped the Racers push their winning streak to 15 with wins at Eastern Illinois (Jan. 22) and SIUE (Jan. 24). Payne had a career-high 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting (3-of-5 3-pointers) in handing EIU is first Conference loss of the season. He added 22 points at SIUE and scored 27.5 per game for the week. He was 21-of-41 from the field for 51 percent and was 63 percent from the 3-point line on 7-of-11 shots.
Payne is 28th in the nation with his 19.2 scoring average and he's 17th in assists per game with 5.9.
With 976 points, Payne is on the doorstep of becoming the 41st member of the MSU 1000-Point Club.
He is also on the watch lists for the Bob Cousy and Lou Henson awards. The Cousy Award identifies the best point guard in the nation, while the Henson Award goes to the best mid-major player.
