Harper Named SEC Freshman of the Week

Jared Harper (1) in action vs. UConn on December 23. (Photo: Auburn Athletics/Dakota Sumpter)

Auburn Basketball had its’ best seven-day stretch of the season last week, with a buzzer-beating win over Mercer, and two wins against powers Oklahoma and UConn. One of the Tigers key contributors of their recent success was recognized on Monday. Freshman Jared Harper had back-to-back career highs against Oklahoma and UConn, scoring 21 and 22 points respectively. He ended last week averaging 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 steals. Because of that, Harper was named SEC Freshman of the Week by the league office.

In the UConn game, he had 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals, all career highs. He also secured Auburn’s 70-67 overtime win over the Huskies, by assisting Danjel Purifoy’s game-tying three-pointer, and by laying in the game-winning basket with 27 seconds remaining. According to Auburn Sports Information, Harper ranks in five SEC stat categories, fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3), tied for fifth in steals (1.8), ninth in 3-point field goal pct. (.375), tied for 10th in 3-point field goals made (2.4) and 20th in scoring. (12.8). Auburn heads into their conference schedule with a 10-2 record, which is the highest win total since the 1999-2000 season. The Tigers battle Georgia on Thursday at 6 P.M. inside Auburn Arena.