Auburn center Walker Kessler playing through injury

As the SEC tournament approaches, Auburn big man Walker Kessler isn’t playing at full strength.

Kessler is dealing with a left shoulder injury and wore a brace during the Tigers’ win against Mississippi State Wednesday. After the game, Bruce Pearl didn’t go into specifics besides saying the injury occurred against Tennessee.

“He got clipped in the Tennessee game pretty good,” Pearl said, via AL.com’s Tom Green. “He got fouled, it was a common foul on the play, and he got hit twice. It was chippy, at best. He suffered an injury to his shoulder, but he’s got the brace on it and working through it.”

Kessler has been an integral part of Auburn’s success this season. He averages 11.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.6 blocks in his first season after transferring from North Carolina.

Auburn is 26-4 overall and 14-3 in SEC play. The Tigers clinched at least a share of the SEC title and have one game remaining before the league tournament. They’ll take on South Carolina Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

Auburn clinches SEC Championship in OT win at Mississippi State

No. 5 Auburn (26-4, 14-3 SEC) defeated Mississippi State 81-68 in overtime Wednesday night to clinch at least a share of the SEC regular season championship. It is the second under head coach Bruce Pearl, who spoke on how much it means to him, his players and the Auburn fanbase after the win.

“It means so much to us because this league is so good,” Pearl said. “And, you know, there are about seven or eight teams that could have won this thing, and the fact that Auburn put itself in this position is just incredible.”

Freshman sensation Jabari Smith had another stellar night with 27 points and 10 rebounds on 9-13 shooting while KD Johnson and Zep Jasper combined for 25. Pearl couldn’t say enough about the future NBA lottery pick.

“[Smith] is one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever coached,” Pearl said. “Now, you could look at his jump shot and you can look at all the other things about him, but that is one competitive talent. I mean, he doesn’t want to lose anything and he wants the ball, he’s not afraid of the moment, and I’m gonna just trust him.”

Smith nailed a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 61 in regulation, but missed the potential buzzer-beating 3-point attempt to end regulation — but as they say in March, you survive and advance, overtime or not. Now Smith can say he is an SEC Champion.