Auburn basketball’s Johni Broome puts on dominant performance against Georgia
The Auburn basketball team beat the Georgia Bulldogs 82-70 on Saturday afternoon, and a big factor in that win was National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome. With the end of the season looming, every game counts in Broome’s pursuit of recognition as the best player in college basketball, and this one was pretty convincing.
Broome logged 31 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists in the game, his career high in points while playing for Auburn. It was his 17th double-double of the season. For the Tigers’ big man— who is averaging 18.6 points, 11 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per matchup— it was just another game.
“My teammates got me looks, my coaches got me in the right spots, then God just let the ball go through the basket,” Broome said, per Auburn Rivals. “Nothing crazy. I’m just, you know, trying to get back to my normal self again.”
Broome’s ‘normal self’ refers to how he played before injuring his ankle in the South Carolina game earlier this season. Though he only missed two games with the injury, the healing process has been ongoing as he continues to play.
Just last week, Auburn basketball launched a website for Broome’s Player of the Year campaign, and for head coach Bruce Pearl, tonight’s performance was enough to cement Broome as the winner of the award.
“That’s why he’s Player of the Year,” Bruce Pearl said postgame, per Auburn Undercover. “Unbelievable poise. He plays at a great pace offensively and the fact that he’s patient, calculating and the fact that he attacked the rim like he did in this game so much.
“I mean, that was the biggest difference at the end of the day. We had 4 and they didn’t. And 4 played pretty good tonight.”
The Tigers return to action this Wednesday when they host Ole Miss in Neville Arena.
