AUBURN, Ala. – Confetti rained down from Neville Arena last weekend as Auburn celebrated its SEC regular season championship. The Tigers went 15-3 in league play, winning the conference title outright. It was their second regular season crown in the last five seasons.
That title, that achievement, that moment – it was only the beginning.
Next Game:
Texas A&M
March 11, 2022
11 a.m. CT
TV: ESPN
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
Auburn heads to Tampa this week as the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament and wants nothing more than to celebrate another championship Sunday afternoon.
"We're real motivated," freshman Jabari Smith. "We know how it feels to win a championship and the joy you get from it, and we also know how hard it is. We're going down there locked in and focusing on not taking any plays off and playing the right away and playing how we've been playing.
"We're ready to get down there and ready to compete with the best league in the country."
There will be no championship game Sunday, however, if Auburn don't handle its business in Friday's quarterfinal round. The last time the Tigers won the SEC regular season, they lost their opening matchup as the top seed in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
"It's understanding that you lose, you go home," sophomore Walker Kessler said. "It's understanding that it's urgent to win. But also understanding we've got to do what we're going to do and not let that affect us."
Auburn will open against Texas A&M who knocked off Florida in overtime Thursday. The two sides met once earlier this season, and it was the Tigers who prevailed at home, 75-58, thanks in large part to one of Kessler's two triple-doubles on the season. The SEC Defensive Player of the Year finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 12 blocks.
But that game was almost a month ago. With the win over Florida, Texas A&M is as hot as any team in the league, having now won five straight games heading into Friday. For Auburn, another championship is up for grabs. But so is a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. And more than anything, it's about playing your best basketball in March.
"I suppose at this time of the year we'd like to continue to try to be playing our best," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Can we be better in the half court? Can we continue to shoot the ball well like we have the last couple games? Can we cut down on our turnovers?"
"Regardless of if we can help ourselves or not, we're going to try and win because that's what we want to do," added Kessler. "We want to make statements. We want to win."
Auburn and Texas A&M will be the first game of the day with tip off scheduled for 11 a.m. CT from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM and online at AuburnTigers.com, and the game will also be televised on ESPN with Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and Marty Smith on the call.
AUBURN IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT
Auburn is 34-55 (.382) overall all-time in the SEC Tournament and is 30-38 (.441) since its renewal in 1979. The last time the Tigers played in the SEC Tournament in 2019, they won the championship after winning four games in four days to capture its second tournament championship in program history as the No. 5 seed.
Auburn also won the SEC Tournament title in 1985 as the eighth-seeded Tigers became the first team to win four games in four days to take home the championship. Additionally, Auburn finished as the runner-up two different times (1984, 2000).
No player on the current Auburn roster has played in the SEC Tournament for the Tigers. Sophomore K.D. Johnson scored 12 points in the opening round of the 2022 SEC Tournament against Missouri as a freshman at Georgia last season.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Freshman forward Jabari Smith and sophomore post Walker Kessler have been one of the nation's top front court duos. They have combined to average 28.6 points, 15.1 rebounds, 5.5 blocks per game on the season while shooting 51.2 percent from the field combined. Both earned First Team All-SEC honors earlier in the week.
BLOCK PARTY
Auburn leads the country in blocked shots per game (7.9) and total blocks (246). The Tigers' 246 total blocks are a school single-season record, which was broken on Feb. 8 at Arkansas after just 24 games. They have three 14-block games this season, including against Friday's opponent Texas A&M where Walker Kessler had a career-best 12.
Kessler is second nationally in total blocks (140) and blocks per game (4.6), and his 140 blocks is the Auburn school single-season record, a record he broke on Feb. 23 against Ole Miss – breaking the previous record of 123 set by Kyle Davis in 2002-03.