AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn men's basketball team put a cap on its historic season at the 30th annual awards banquet Thursday night inside Auburn Arena.
Senior Bryce Brown, junior Jared Harper and sophomore Chuma Okeke received the prestigious Paul Lambert/Tommy Joe Eagles Award, given to the team's most valuable player.
Brown, who also earned the Coaches' Award, was an All-SEC Second Team honoree, led Auburn with 15.9 points per game and set the SEC single-season record with 141 3-pointers. He also broke the Auburn career record and finished second in SEC history with 382 makes from downtown. Brown was crucial down the stretch as Auburn advanced to its first Final Four in program history.
Harper, who joined Brown on the all-conference second team, became the only player in program history with 1,400 points and 500 assists in a career. He set the Tigers' single-season record with 231 assists. Harper was also tabbed as the Midwest Regional Most Outstanding Player after averaging 17.5 points and 6.5 assists.
Okeke led Auburn with seven double-doubles, including three in the month of March. He also scored in double figures in 15 of his last 17 games. Okeke became the first Auburn player to record a double-double in an NCAA Tournament game since 2000 when he scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds vs. North Carolina.
Okeke also took home the Most Improved Player Award after raising his scoring output from 7.5 points per game as a freshman to 12.0 points per game as a sophomore. The sophomore averaged 15 points and seven rebounds per game during the NCAA Tournament and was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team and Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team.
Harper was chosen as the recipient of the John Mengelt Free Throw Award after leading Auburn with 83 percent from the free throw line. He made double-digit free throws three times, including overtime wins against UAB and Kentucky in Elite Eight. Harper made 88 percent of his free throws in the final five minutes of games.
The Sixth Man Award was given to J'Von McCormick. The junior averaged 4.1 points per game in 39 games off the bench. Auburn was 24-3 when McCormick played at least 10 minutes on the floor. He shot 53 percent and averaged 5.9 points per game during the Tigers' 12-game winning streak and Final Four appearance.
Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley were given the Mike Mitchell Courage Award. Both players played a key role in Auburn's run to the SEC Tournament title and the Final Four, as well as a program-record 30 wins. Purifoy and Wiley both announced their intentions to return to Auburn for their senior seasons.
The Iron Tigers Award was given to Horace Spencer. The senior averaged 4.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game and played in all 40 games for the Tigers. One of Spencer's most defining moments came when he had a gash above his eye against Kentucky and came back a few minutes later to finish the game.
Spencer was also given the Rising Waters Academic Award for his efforts and growth in the classroom over his four seasons on The Plains.
Malik Dunbar was honored with the Sonny Smith Outstanding Teammate Award. Auburn went 11-2 when he was in the starting lineup during the 2018-19 season. Dunbar increased his scoring output from 5.4 points per game as a junior to 6.6 points per contest. He shot 43 percent from the floor, including 34 percent from behind the arc.
The Bill Lynn Academic Award was earned by Cole Blackstock. The senior is expected to earn his degree from the Ginn College of Engineering in May. He is a multiple honoree on the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
The inaugural Student Manager of the Year Award was given to senior Michael Wilmot, while the Tip-Off Club Award was given to Jenn Morgan.
Auburn set a program record with 30 wins en route to being the first team from the state of Alabama to reach the Final Four. The Tigers also won four games in four days for their second SEC Tournament title all-time.
Auburn led the nation and set an SEC record with 454 3-pointers, 97 more than the next-highest team in conference history.
The Tigers also set program records in steals (369) and blocks (190) in a season.
Auburn went 11-0 in March, which included four straight wins over top-10 opponents for the first time in program history. The Tigers also became the first team in NCAA Tournament history to defeat the three winningest programs all-time in a row in Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky.