BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Auburn sophomore forward/center Walker Kessler and freshman forward Jabari Smith swept the SEC weekly player awards on Monday.
Kessler shared SEC Co-Player of the Week honors with Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams. It marked his second weekly honor this season. Kessler led top-ranked Auburn to another 2-0 week with victories at home against Georgia (W, 83-60) on Jan. 19 and No. 12-ranked Kentucky (W, 80-71) on Jan. 22.
The Tigers are off to their fourth-best start in program history at 18-1 overall on the season and an undefeated 7-0 start to SEC play for only the second time next to the 1958-59 campaign.
Kessler registered his third-straight double-digit performance in league play with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field against UK. He also tallied seven rebounds and two blocks. Kessler also had a big game inside versus UGA with 15 points, six rebounds and six blocks.
For the week, he averaged 17.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per contest against the Bulldogs and Wildcats combined and currently ranks second nationally averaging a SEC-leading 4.2 blocks per game.
Meanwhile, Smith, garnered his fourth career SEC Freshman of the Week award from the conference office. He extended his team-leading double-digit scoring streak to 16 games with 14 points and seven rebounds against UK. One of the top freshmen in the country and in the SEC, he also recorded 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the victory over UGA.