Tag: walker kessler

Auburn basketball’s Walker Kessler named SEC Player of the Week

Walker Kessler picked up SEC Player of the Week honors!

Auburn basketball made history last week.

Center Walker Kessler recorded only the second triple-double in program history last Wednesday, scoring 16 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and blocking 11 shots in a 70-55 win over LSU. The 7-foot-1 transfer from North Carolina also knocked down his fourth triple of the season during the game.

The SEC acknowledged his achievement by naming him SEC Player of the Week. He was also named the ESPN Power Rankings Player of the Week. Kessler is the only NCAA Division I player in the last 25 years to have a triple-double against a 10-0 or better team, according to STATS.

No. 9 Auburn (12-1) faces off against South Carolina (9-3) this Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. CST.

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Where Auburn basketball stands before facing South Carolina

Here is an overview of Auburn basketball before the Tigers play South Carolina.

Auburn basketball feels like it is at an all-time high.

The Tigers have asserted themselves in the rankings and aim to take control of the SEC now that conference play has begun. However, Auburn is one of the many teams in the Southeastern Conference that has a complete roster from top to bottom. Anyone can beat any team on a given night in the SEC. After picking up a win over then-undefeated LSU, Auburn looks to continue to build momentum with a win over South Carolina this Tuesday.

Here is where the Tigers stand before hitting the road to face the Gamecocks in Columbia.

Ten New Year’s resolutions for Auburn basketball

Here are ten New Year’s resolutions for Auburn basketball.

The Tigers ended 2021 with a bang.

Auburn picked up a 70-55 win over No. 16 LSU to both open up conference play and to close out the year.

Now, the Tigers enter 2022 with more fanfare and hype than potentially ever before. Come Monday, the Tigers should be inside the top 10 of the AP top 25 poll, with a ridiculous amount of momentum heading into Tuesday’s contest at South Carolina.

While the team may be feeling itself now, there are still a lot that Bruce Pearl & Co. have set out to accomplish in the new year.

Here are ten New Year’s resolutions for Auburn basketball.

Slow start dooms LSU chances against Auburn

The Tigers could not overcome a slow start and loss to Auburn 70-55. LSU is now 12-1 on the season

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LSU took on Auburn on the road in the first SEC match-up this season. LSU is ranked No.16, and Auburn is ranked No.11. The Tigers could not overcome a slow start and loss to Auburn 70-55. LSU is now 12-1, and Auburn is also 12-1.

Auburn got out to a 21-4 lead, LSU used tough defense to cut into the lead. Auburn went into halftime, leading 32-21. LSU had a chance to cut it to a four-point game with a fast break opportunity in the second half, but they turned the ball over. After the turnover, Auburn went on a 5-0 run to put the game away for good.

The Tigers did not play well on offense; they shot 28.6% from the field and 20.7% from the three-point land. Darius Days scored 11 points on 4-14 shooting from the field and 3-12 from beyond the arc. Xavier Pinson also struggled, shooting 3-11 from the field and scoring 13 points. In addition, the Tigers turned the ball over 17 times which did not help also.

What kept LSU hanging around was their defense, forcing 21 Auburn turnovers. Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler scored 16 points apiece for Auburn. Wndell Green Jr. added 15 off the bench.

On January 4th, LSU plays another formidable SEC opponent Kentucky at home. The Tigers must get off to a better start and not turn the ball over. Also, they must continue their strong defensive play to win the game.

Takeaways from Auburn’s win over Murray State

Huge win for the Tigers.

Auburn asserted dominance in their final non-conference game before they begin their SEC slate.

The Tigers (11-1) defeated Murray State 71-58 behind another solid performance from Walker Kessler, who finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 blocks.

Auburn did two things really well in this game that they struggled to do well against St. Louis – play well in transition and rebound the ball well.

Murray State allows teams to shoot 53.4% from inside the arc and Auburn shot an even 54%. It was an even attack from the Tigers on Wednesday night, and it certainly worked.

Defensively, Auburn held the Racers (who average 86 points per game) to just 58 points on just 33.9% shooting.

Here are five takeaways from Auburn’s 13 point win over Murray State.

Takeaways from Auburn basketball’s 70-44 win over North Alabama

Auburn’s defense carried the way tonight vs UNA.

Auburn managed to avoid catastrophe after a slow start against North Alabama on Tuesday night.

The No. 13 Tigers (9-1) were only up 32-27 at the halftime break but used a 25-2 run in the second half to propel themselves to a 70-44 win.

Offensively, the game was not entertaining to watch. Auburn went scoreless for the last four minutes and thirty-five seconds of the contest, whereas North Alabama had various scoring droughts during their worst offensive output of the season. Defensively, however, Auburn put on a clinic. North Alabama shot just 29% from the floor (their lowest total of the season), and every player that stepped onto the court finished with a negative plus-minus. The last time Auburn held a team to 45 points or less was the 77-41 win over Troy last season.

Here are five takeaways from Auburn’s 26 point win over the Lions.

Aggregate NBA mock draft 2.0: Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith battle for No. 1

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, Basketball News and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Since our last update, the players who have improved the most spots are Ismael Kamagate (Paris), Moussa Diabate (Michigan), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Hugo Besson (New Zealand), Efe Abogidi (Washington State),  Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State), Justin Lewis (Marquette), Max Christie (Michigan State), EJ Liddell (Ohio State), and Ochai Agbaji (Kansas).

The most notable prospects making their debut on our rankings are Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), MarJon Beauchamp (G League Ignite), Keon Ellis (Alabama), Christian Koloko (Arizona), Wendell Moore (Duke), Blake Wesley (Notre Dame),  Josh Minott (Memphis), Zach Edey (Purdue), and Johnny Davis (Wisconsin).

Some of the top prospects who did not make the cut this time included Hunter Sallis (Gonzaga), Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Tennesse), Kobe Bufkin (Michigan), Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State), Jahvon Quinerly (Albama), Adam Flagler (Baylor), Jaylin Williams (Auburn), Matthieu Gauzin (Le Mans), Isaiah Wong (Miami), Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Five takeaways from Auburn basketball’s win over UCF

Auburn earns a hard fought win over UCF. Here are the takeaways:

This was a much more physical, tough, and competitive game than the final score indicated.

No. 21 Auburn (6-1) defeated UCF (4-2) by a final score of 85-68 on a very chippy night in Auburn Arena.

These two teams clearly had some bad blood after the Tigers lost in Orlando to the Knights last season, a game where Auburn shot just 32.3% from the floor, 20.6% from three, and 36.4% from the free-throw line.

Tonight, it was Auburn’s turn to do the clamping. The Knights ended up shooting 35.6% from the floor and a poor 16.7% from three.

Here are five takeaways from the scrappy affair between Auburn and UCF.

Takeaways from Auburn’s double-overtime loss to UConn

What a game.

What a game.

The Auburn Tigers found themselves up by 11 early, then down by 15, then tied at the end of both regulation and overtime. But unfortunately, the offense sputtered out in a 115-109 double-overtime loss to UConn in the Battle 4 Atlantis. A tough one, for sure, but man was that fun.

Auburn fans should not be distraught after losing. That was a phenomenal game that showed so much potential. The Tigers allowed UConn to make 8-of-12 from deep in the first half but managed to slow the Huskies’ shooting down just enough to climb back into the contest.

Here are five takeaways from the loss.

Walker Kessler: ‘I always did love Auburn’

Kessler is a national treasure.

Walker Kessler has quietly become one of the most enjoyable personalities on the Auburn basketball team.

From his jokes about the dunk contest to his infamous bucket hat, to the energy he brings at the rim, Kessler has asserted himself as a valuable piece on the squad, not just on the court, but off the court as a stand-up personality Auburn fans love.

Kessler spoke with the media and talked about his love for Auburn.

“I always did love Auburn. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, well this school is close. I’m going to go there.’ It was like I already know Auburn, I loved Auburn, this is clearly the best choice.

“Coach Pearl is such an unbelievable coach and what he’s done with this program is just so unbelievable in the fact that he’s such a player’s coach and really believes in his players. That was the initial thing that drew me- and then obviously being close to home. And then the people, the players, the coaching staff, it’s just been special to me.”

Kessler is currently averaging 4.3 points per game, 5.7 rebounds, and a whopping 3.7 blocks per contest.

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