Auburn basketball: Walker Kessler the key to Texas A&M matchup

After a hard-fought win in overtime against what was essentially a home-crowd game for the Florida Gators, it’s Texas A&M that will be facing off against Auburn basketball in the quarterfinals of the 2022 SEC Tournament.

The Florida faithful didn’t have to travel far to Tampa to support the Gators, but it was ultimately the Aggies that came out on top after blowing a big lead in the second half of regulation and pulling it off in extra minutes with an 83-80 win.

Many Auburn basketball fans are exhaling sighs of relief that the Tigers won’t have to see Gators’ big man Colin Castleton again after a tough loss in Gainesville several weeks ago. Instead, Auburn will be facing a team that they took care of with ease in their only regular-season matchup at Neville Arena.

When the Tigers defeated the Aggies 75-58 earlier this season, it was ultimately the defense that propelled Auburn to the finish. Both teams had a rough day in terms of three-point shooting and the turnovers and fouls were fairly evenly matched, but Auburn basketball blocked 14 shots to Texas A&M’s five and pulled in 34 defensive rebounds to the Aggies’ 27.

Without a doubt, Bruce Pearl’s squad has Walker Kessler to thank for those blocks, as the forward recorded his second triple-double of the season during that game.

Rather than reckoning with Castleton for the third time this year, the biggest Aggie Kessler will have to conquer that plays significant minutes will be six-foot-eight Henry Coleman III, who is averaging 26.5 minutes, and 10.7 points and 6.2 rebounds in those minutes.

In addition to the weapon that is Walker Kessler, Auburn basketball’s depth is sure to come in handy tomorrow against a Texas A&M team that had to battle all the way through overtime the day before. While their bench matched up well to the Tigers’ at Neville Arena with 27 points to Auburn’s 26, they were outscored by Florida’s bench 44-19 in their Round 2 game.

Though the ‘Madness’ is imminent, Auburn basketball should be able to take care of the Aggies in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.