AUBURN | Walker Kessler has found his groove.

The Auburn sophomore posted his third double-double in last four games to lead the 21st-ranked Tigers to a 85-68 win over UCF Wednesday night at Auburn Arena.

"I expect a lot of Walker. I'm probably on Walker as much as anybody — me and my son Steven (Pearl)," said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. "It was good to see Walker, you know, control the game on the inside. We got him some rolls. He made some good plays getting to the basket."

Kessler, a North Carolina transfer, scored 17 points on 8 of 14 shooting and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds. He was +14 for the game.

"He's just being Walk," said Jabari Smith, who led Auburn with 20 points. "It's not surprising me. Just watching him over the years, you know, it's really what we expect of him. We're proud of him, and we just going to keep building off of this and hopefully keep winning."

Kessler also had six blocked shots, two steals and two assists in a team-high 31 minutes. He committed just two fouls and had one turnover.

"He made some good passes when he got the ball on the inside," said Pearl. "A lot of big guys turn the ball over a lot, and Walker's been good about taking care of the basketball and not turning the ball over too much. And we don't turn the ball over a lot trying to force it in there him."

Auburn, which improves to 6-1, returns to action Saturday against Yale. Tip-off at Auburn Arena is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on ESPNU.