Auburn Daily

Johni Broome's Injury Set Up Hero's Return for Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers momentarily lost All-American Johni Broome to an arm injury. Head coach Bruce Pearl revealed his in-game thoughts and gave an update after the win.

Scott Kennedy

Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome left the game against Michigan State before returning and playing a key role in the Tigers' win.
Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome left the game against Michigan State before returning and playing a key role in the Tigers' win. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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The Auburn Tigers got a player of the year effort from All-American Johni Broome in Sunday's Elite Eight win over the Michigan State Spartans.

It wasn't without some doubt though. Broome left the game with Auburn leading 50-40 and 10:37 left on the clock. He had suffered an arm injury and had doubts about his return.

"When Johni went out, my heart dropped, but he came to me and Dylan and was like, 'you might have to finish for us.' We were just like, all right, we've got to lock in and continue being tough because toughness wins in March," said Auburn forward Chaney Johnson.

Head coach Bruce Pearl immediately went into planning mode. How would his team cope with Michigan State without its best player?

"When Johni went out, I immediately thought about Chaney and Dylan (Cardwell), and neither of them went into foul trouble," said Pearl. "I knew that we were going to be fine there. I might have timeouts to be able to give them the time they need. If Johni had not come out of the locker room, I probably would've gotten a timeout.

"It was not going to affect us defensively. Chaney and Dylan can obviously do what needs to be done on the defensive end and rebounding. My guess is, when Johni was out, we hung in there. We made it difficult for Michigan State to score."

Auburn wasn't the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament simply because of Broome. Pearl built a talented, deep roster capable of winning games in multiple ways. He also hit on the importance of staying out of early foul trouble.

However, Broome wasn't done for the night. He came back out on the floor after being cleared by doctors, and Pearl went right to him.

"When Johni came out of the locker room, I hadn't talked to the doctor, but I just asked him, are you good to go? He said, 'I am.' I said, 'well, get your ass in there,'" said Pearl. "Dylan was ready to come out. Dylan was kind of calling the bench. If Johni had not come out, I probably would have just called a timeout."

Five minutes has run off the game clock, and Pearl was right. Michigan State only scored seven points in the five minutes Broome was out. Auburn's 10-point lead remained while Broome was getting treatment. He returned to a hero's welcome from the partisan crowd that was heavily tinted orange.

Broome grabbed a rebound and then hit a dagger of a three-pointer to put Auburn up 12 with 4:40 to play. The Tigers kept the lead at at least eight points the rest of the way until Jaden Atkins hit a three for Michigan State with just 13 seconds left on the clock, giving us the 70-64 final score.

"I went to the locker room," said Broome. "We have a great support staff. I checked my arm out. The Doc said nothing's wrong, you're good. Nothing serious. So at that moment, I just wanted to help my teammates. If that's coming back out and playing and hitting one shot and grabbing the rebound, I was going to do it."

Broome felt he hadn't played his best in the NCAA Tournament to that point, but he came up big in the Elite Eight against the Michigan State Spartans. He now has almost a week to recover before taking on the Florida Gators in the Final Four on Saturday.

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Scott Kennedy
SCOTT KENNEDY

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