AUBURN – It appears Auburn basketball will be without Johni Broome for another game.
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Broome, who injured his ankle in the Tigers’ road win over South Carolina, sat out Auburn’s last win, against No. 15 Mississippi State, and coach Bruce Pearl said Broome would not practice Thursday, although he did not provide an update on Broome’s return timetable.
The Tigers next face No. 23 Georgia on Saturday at noon CST in Athens.
“We’re going to have to continue to play really, really well against a man. A big man,” Pearl said Thursday, later adding: “We’re facing one of the most dynamic offensive players in college basketball; a center old school.” who can score with his back to the basket in one on one. If you double-team him, he can pass it to anyone, and he does a great job of getting to the foul line. We have to find other ways to score.”
Without Broome, the Tigers showed no difficulty in an 88-66 victory over a top 15 team. The focal point of the offense took on a new form with Chad Baker-Mazara, who lost a season-high season by 20 points while Chaney Johnson, Denver Jones, Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford combined for 55 more points.
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In 15 games this season, Broome has been a candidate for national player of the year. Although he missed one game, he still leads Auburn in points (17.9), rebounds (10.2), assists (3.3) and blocks (2.7).
This isn’t the first injury Broome has dealt with this season. He injured his shoulder against Georgia State. With the injury looking significant, he returned for Auburn’s next game, against then-No. 16 Purdue and hadn’t missed a game since.
How did Auburn basketball’s Johni Broome injure his ankle?
Broome left the South Carolina game at 13:45 of the second half after appearing to roll his left ankle while looking for a rebound, with the help of two team trainers and without putting weight on his left foot . A spokesperson for the program later told the Montgomery Advertiser that he would not return for the competition.
In 24 minutes against the Gamecocks, Broome scored just six points on 3-of-11 shooting. He grabbed three rebounds while recording two blocks, an assist and a steal.
Who replaces Johni Broome on the Auburn basketball roster?
Without Broome, the Tigers found a new leading scorer in Baker-Mazara and the second 20-point game of his career at Auburn. However, Pearl said what Auburn did against Mississippi State wouldn’t necessarily be the same game plan against Georgia.
Auburn’s next man in place of Broome in the starting lineup is Chaney Johnson, who started against Mississippi State and dropped 17 points. He’s averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, playing in all 17 games for Auburn so far.
Without Broome alongside him, starting center Dylan Cardwell scored 9 points and grabbed 5 rebounds against the Bulldogs. Reserve forward Ja’Heim “Turtle” Hudson, who played an average of 6.5 minutes this season, was on the floor for just four minutes against Mississippi State.
Adam Cole is the Auburn sports editor for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached by email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.
This article was originally published on Montgomery Advertiser: Injury Update: The latest on Johni Broome’s return to Auburn basketball
