Rodney McGruder was the impetus behind a very happy Christmas week for the No. 25 Kansas State Wildcats. In leading the Wildcats to wins over No. 8 Florida and Texas Southern, the senior guard was brilliant enough to be named the Big 12 Player of the Week.

McGruder scored 26 points in a 78-69 win over Texas Southern on Dec. 18 before leading the Wildcats to the upset over the Gators. Against Florida, McGruder scored 13 points to go along with 6 rebounds. He hit a couple of key free throws with a little over a minute left to help the Wildcats hold the lead. It was the Wildcats' first non-conference, regular-season win over a top-10 team since 1981.

McGruder is averaging 13.3 points per game on the season with 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists for Kansas State (9-2). The Wildcats close out the month with a couple more non-conference games before taking on Oklahoma State on Jan. 5 to kick off Big 12 play.