BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Auburn men's basketball forward Jabari Smith, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound freshman from Tyrone, Ga., earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Monday.
It marked his first career weekly honor. Last week, he averaged 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game against No. 22-ranked UConn, Loyola Chicago and Syracuse at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas. Smith recorded 22 points against the Huskies and Orange, his second and third 20-point outings of his young career for the nationally-ranked Tigers.
He also went a career best 12-for-12 from the free throw line versus UConn shooting 93.3 percent from the charity stripe for the week, while also knocking down six 3-pointers. For his performance, Smith was named to the five-member Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament Team.
The rookie is currently the fifth-leading scorer in the SEC averaging 16.3 points per game – the only freshman among the Top 10 scorers in the league. He is also the only player in NCAA Division I averaging 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line.
The Tigers (5-1), who are ranked No. 21 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 Poll, play host to UCF (4-1) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CT) at Auburn Arena. The game will be televised on SEC Network+ and can be heard on the Auburn Sports Network.
