Auburn entered SEC play with a lack of respect throughout the conference. A report by CBS predicted the Tigers to finish 4-14 in the conference.
It is now well-documented that the Tigers finished 25-6 and 13-5 in the conference, but Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl will have some more motivational tools for his team as it enters the SEC Tournament this weekend.
After finishing as the wire-to-wire SEC champions, no Tigers were named to the first-team All-SEC Team, which was announced Tuesday morning.
Guards Jared Harper and Bryce Brown were named second-team All-SEC, and sophomore Anferenee McLemore was named to the All-Defensive Team.
The First SEC Regular Season Champion to not have a player on the Coaches All SEC FIRST TEAM since it began in 1956 is The 2018 Auburn Tigers! I’m just sayin
— Bruce Pearl (@coachbrucepearl) March 6, 2018
Harper was a top-20 scorer in the SEC as he contributed 13.9 points per tilt, including 15.2 in league play alone.
He was the only player in the SEC to rank in the top 10 in scoring, assists, free throw percentage, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio in league games this season.
Harper also led the conference with 15 games of seven or more assists this season.
Brown ranked second on the team and eighth in the league with 16.4 points per game, including 16.8 in conference play. The junior led the SEC with 3.3 3-pointers per game.
Brown became the 36th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and is the 18th player in the Auburn record books to tally 1,000 points prior to the end of their third season.
McLemore, despite not playing since Feb. 17 due to a season-ending injury, still topped the SEC in total blocks with 73. That mark sits in the top 20 in the nation and is tied for fifth in the single-season Auburn record books.
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Brown and Harper are the first Auburn players to be honored by the league's coaches since KT Harrell in 2015. No Auburn player has earned first-team coaches' All-SEC honors since Chris Porter and Doc Robinson in 1999.
Tennessee forward Grant Williams was named the SEC Player of the Year after averaging a team-high 15.6 points per game, 5.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.
Tennessee’s Rick Barnes was named SEC Coach of the Year, edging Pearl for the accolade after his team won a share of the SEC title after being picked 13th in the preseason.
Williams was joined on the first-team All-SEC by Arkansas' Jaylen Barford, Florida's Chris Chiozza, Georgia's Yante Mate, Kentucky's Kevin Knox, Missouri's Kassius Robinson, South Carolina's Chris Silva and Texas A&M's Tyler Davis.
Brown and Harper were joined on the second team by Alabama's Collin Sexton, Arkansas' Daryl Macon, Kentucky's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Mississippi State's Quinndary Weatherspoon, Tennessee's Admiral Schofield and Vanderbilt's Jeff Roberson.
Pretty much sums up our season to this point. Mustapha averaged 17.1 Pts ranked 5th, 6th FT %, 10th steals, Top 25 Rebs and leads a Championship Team. Really? https://t.co/wM9ENQ0QfR
— Bruce Pearl (@coachbrucepearl) March 6, 2018
On the Associated Press' list, Brown was a first-teamer. And while Heron was snubbed on the coaches' list, the sophomore standout earned second-team honors in AP's eyes, along with Harper.
Lol
— Mustapha Heron (@Kingheron5) March 6, 2018
Auburn will play on Friday in the 2018 SEC Tournament against either Texas A&M or Alabama. The tournament will begin Wednesday night in St. Louis.
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