Two Auburn men’s basketball players have earned weekly honors from the SEC. Walker Kessler was named SEC Co-Player of the Week and Jabari Smith was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
Kessler’s award comes after a week in which he was Auburn’s leading scorer in both games. Kessler had 15 points against Georgia and 19 against Kentucky in 29 minutes per game.
Kessler added six rebounds against the Bulldogs and seven boards against the Wildcats. The 7-foot-1 sophomore also blocked eight shots during the week, six against Georgia and two against Kentucky.
Joining Kessler as SEC Co-Player of the Week was Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams, who averaged a double-double with 16.5 points and 10 rebounds in his two games this week, against South Carolina and Texas A&M. Williams also had six steals against the Aggies.
Kessler and the Tigers will face off against Williams and the Razorbacks in just two weeks in Fayetteville.
Smith was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the second week in a row following his performance of 13 points, seven rebounds, and 2.5 assists in just over 26 minutes per game during the past week.
After scoring 12 points against Georgia and 14 against Kentucky, the Tigers’ freshman phenom has been a double-digit scorer in 16 consecutive games.
Kessler and Smith, along with the rest of the nation’s No. 1 team, will return to action on Tuesday night when the Tigers visit Missouri. Then, on Saturday, Auburn will return home to face Oklahoma in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
