Bleacher Reports Ranks Auburn Star Among Top Players in March Madness

The Auburn Tigers star made for a logical addition to the publication's top players in March Madness

Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome was named among the top players as expected | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Bleacher Report has put the 25 Best Players that will be in the 2025 Men’s NCAA Tournament that will start just a day from now. On the list are multiple Naismith College Player of the Year award candidates including the Auburn Tigers’ Johni Broome. There is also Duke Blue Devils’ Cooper Flagg, the Florida Gators’ Walter Clayton Jr. and the Memphis Tigers’ P.J. Haggerty among the candidates who were also on the list. 

The big surprise was that Johni Broome was not at the top of the list. Instead, it was Duke’s Cooper Flagg. Broome was in second. He may have been downgraded to the fact that Auburn had lost three of their last four games dating to the last week of the regular season. Duke on the other hand, Duke hasn’t lost since early February and is 31-3 on the season. That is better than any other team entering the NCAA Tournament.

On top of that, Duke won the ACC Tournament over Louisville. Auburn, on the other hand, were not as successful in their conference tournament. They lost in the SEC semifinals to the Tennessee Volunteers who ended up losing the eventual conference champion, the Florida Gators. 

However, that doesn’t mean that the Tigers have been successful. Broome currently leads his team with 18.9 points and 3.1 assists per game. He also leads the SEC with 10.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. The fact that Broome has been to affect games on both sides of the ball has been a massive part of Auburn’s wins. They will need him to be at his very best as they head into the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers will open up their Big Dance against the in-state school, 16-seed Alabama State. Should they win that, they will face the winner of eight-seed Louisville or nine-seed Creighton.