Auburn launches Player of the Year campaign for Johni Broome
The regular season is in the home stretch, and February will soon turn to March. So Auburn is ready to start making its push for Johni Broome.
After the team’s 67-60 win over a scrappy Arkansas squad Wednesday night, the program officially dropped its campaign for Broome’s national Player of the Year candidacy (AuburnTigers.com/Broome). It’s widely perceived as a two-man race between him and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg.
Auburn wants championships this season, and Broome would trade any sort of individual trophy for a ring in a heartbeat. But the Tigers also know this opportunity is rare. The program has never had a national player of the year.
Naturally, Broome’s teammates don’t believe there is any sort of argument to be had.
“Easily,” Chad Baker-Mazara said postgame Wednesday about Broome’s chances to win player of the year.
Even after sustaining a left ankle sprain last month that has kept him from being 100 percent, Broome continues to post impressive numbers across the board as the most valuable piece of Auburn’s current two-game lead in the SEC. In the win over the Razorbacks, Broome had 16 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. He and Chaney Johnson combined for 13 of the team’s 25 made baskets in a defensive battle.
Though it wasn’t a last-second basket against a top-5 team, Bruce Pearl likened Broome’s late put-back shot against Arkansas to the game-winner from November against Iowa State in Maui. With Auburn up by 1 point inside two minutes to play, Johnson missed a shot at the rim, but Broome cleaned it up and scored to put the Tigers up by a full possession.
“Johni had another game-winning play late with an offensive rebound,” Pearl said. “We ran something with Chaney involved, and Chaney missed it and Johni cleaned it up. He did that against Iowa State. He’s a winner, real good player.”
Auburn’s campaign site for Broome includes four sections for the fifth-year senior: dominance, recognition, legacy and impact. It features a look at some of the numbers behind Broome’s huge season; quotes from ESPN analysts Jay Bilas and Jay Williams, North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis and Ohio State coach Jake Diebler about facing Broome; Broome being one of the most productive players in Auburn and SEC history; and a short video with Broome talking about how the university has impacted him, and vice versa.
Flagg is currently favored over Broome for the Wooden Award according to odds makers. On FanDuel, Flagg is -170 to win, while Broome is +250.
Outside of more advanced metrics, where Broome is the most impactful and valuable player in the country in a variety of categories, here is how Broome’s basic numbers stack up with Flagg’s:
The argument for Broome includes the fact that he is the best player on the best team in the best conference. Auburn has now been No. 1 for six straight weeks and appears close to locking up the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, not to mention the Tigers’ current two-game lead for an SEC championship.
“I’ve always voted for Player of the Year, in every league I’ve been in, as the best player on the best team,” Pearl said this week. “Not the best player on the fourth-best team, who might be better than the best player on the best team. But that player never got my vote. Nothing wrong with that. That’s just always what I’ve done: The best player on the best team. So, if we win the league, and when they vote at the end of the season — and I’m saying if we win the league, there’s a long way to go — Johni Broome is, to me. That’s what it says.”
As Auburn looks to fend off the likes of Florida and Alabama to win Pearl’s fifth SEC title on the Plains, Broome’s continued production and impact will be an underlying storyline to follow. Flagg hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, but Broome’s ankle injury didn’t do so, either. It figures to be one of the most closely contested player of the year races in quite some time, as the award usually feels like a forgone conclusion by the time March rolls around.
Auburn, of course, feels like it already is.
“You see what type of numbers he puts up,” Johnson said. “He’s one of the best players on the best team in the country. He had another dominant night: 16 points, 13 rebounds. A double-double is normal for him. That’s nothing short of just the testament to the work he puts in and how confident he is in himself — and how confident we are in him. So, I mean, I’ve been saying it: national player of the year.
“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get it.”
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No. 1 Auburn took Arkansas’ best shot and even trailed late, but the Tigers found ways to win down the stretch, fending off Arkansas 67-60 on Wednesday night at Neville Arena. On the Postgame Pod, Nathan King breaks down how Auburn made clutch plays late, the Tigers overcoming cold offense, Chaney Johnson and Johni Broome’s impact in the second half, and more.
AUBURN, Ala. — The Georgia Bulldogs matched No. 1 Auburn nearly step for step in Saturday’s game. The problem was that the Bulldogs failed to ever get the upper hand offensively, which led to the Tigers scoring just enough to win.
Georgia and Auburn traded blows throughout the action, but Johni Broome proved too much for the Bulldogs in an 82-70 win for the Tigers. It was another disappointing outing for the Bulldogs, which held their own throughout the action but were left with seventh loss in seven SEC road games this season.
Asa Newell led Georgia with 20 points, and Silas Demary Jr. followed with 18. Broome led all scorers with 31.
Let’s take a look at what stood out from Saturday’s loss:
Georgia (16-11, 4-10 SEC) made life hard on Auburn’s shooters on Saturday. The problem was the Bulldogs never could capitalize on the other end, which made those efforts only worth so much.
The Bulldogs held the Tigers to 30.6% shooting in the first half and saw Auburn (25-2, 13-1 SEC) miss 12 of its last 15 shots from the field before the break. Georgia couldn’t make Auburn pay though, as only two Bulldogs — Silas Demary Jr. and Justin Abson — hit multiple shots in the opening 20 minutes. The result was Georgia trailing by five at the break.
Georgia held its own in the opening half, but you cannot count on the nation’s top-ranked team to miss shots for a full 40 minutes. Both teams had much more success shooting-wise in the second half, but the Bulldogs just could not get the upper hand on the Tigers.
Johni Broome has been impressive across the board while at Auburn, but he’s especially been a handful for Georgia. Broome came into Saturday’s game averaging 17.8 points and 12.2 rebounds against the Bulldogs, and he picked on the Dawgs once again.
Broome was fairly quiet in the first half, but he got going after the break on his way to 31 points and 13 rebounds in the Auburn victory. Broome’s performance was too much for a Georgia team that had mostly played good defense but once again could not shut down one of the nation’s top players.
Barring a rematch in the postseason, Saturday’s game will be the last time the Bulldogs square off with Broome. Given how much of an issue Broome has been, I imagine Mike White and company are relieved.
Asa Newell had been held in check on the road lately as evidenced by the freshman scoring in single digits in two of Georgia’s last three road games. That was not the case on Saturday, as the former five-star came alice in the second half to help the Georgia cause.
Newell only had 3 points in the second half but was the driving force offensively as Georgia threatened to pull off a monumental road upset. While that did not happen, it was no less impressive from Newell, who had 20 points and 5 rebounds.
It’s no secret that the Bulldogs will go as far as No. 14 can take them. His play wasn’t enough to power Georgia to victory, but it was still impressive from Newell — especially given how Auburn’s veteran bigs kept him in check to start the game.
Nobody expected Georgia to come out of Auburn with an upset victory. That said, the road loss was just the latest L for the Dawgs away from home.
Saturday’s loss leaves Georgia with a 0-7 record in SEC road games this season. The Bulldogs’ inability to win conference games away from home has cost them dearly in the postseason race, and they now stand alongside South Carolina as the only SEC teams that have not won a conference game away from home.
Georgia has just two road games left this season: at Texas on March 1 and at South Carolina on March 4. If the Bulldogs can’t win either of those games, they’ll go winless on the road in conference play for the third time in the last 16 seasons.
Georgia was in contention for the majority of Saturday’s action, but the game fully swung Auburn’s way with about eight minutes to go.
Broome stepped up and put the Bulldogs in their place by scoring nine points in the span of 3:29 of action. Georgia answered a number of those buckets, but it seemed like every answer set Broome up to score again and put the pressure back on Georgia. The last of those nine points, which came courtesy a dunk, created a 7-point game with 4:15 remaining. Georgia made it a two-possession game multiple times in the time remaining, but the Bulldogs’ threat only went so far.
The Bulldogs should be commended for keeping things interesting on the road against the nation’s No. 1 team. That said, Georgia could not counter Auburn’s late scoring, which sealed the road team’s fate.
Auburn’s work on the offensive boards loomed large in such a tight game. The Tigers delivered 17 offensive rebounds and 17 second-chance points in the victory. Auburn also outscored Georgia 38-24 in the paint.
Georgia returns home on Tuesday to face No. 2 Florida for a 7 p.m. ET tip that will be televised by SEC Network. The Gators entered Saturday’s game at LSU with a 23-3 overall record and a 10-3 mark in conference play.
This article originates on Dawgs247.
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The argument for Broome over Cooper Flagg includes the fact that he is the best player on the best team in the best conference
No. 1 Auburn took Arkansas’ best shot and even trailed late, but the Tigers found ways to win down the stretch
The Bulldogs held their own but ultimately come up short against the nation’s top-ranked team.
GOOD DEFENSE ONLY GOES SO FAR
BROOME TOO MUCH AGAIN
NEWELL HUGE FOR THE DAWGS
ANOTHER TOUGH ROAD LOSS
DECIDING STRETCH
STANDOUT STAT
UP NEXT
Where’s Auburn’s Johni Broome in the NPOY race after performance vs Alabama?
Hobbling up and down the court still nursing his ankle injury, Auburn leading scorer Johni Broome proved to the world how tough he actually is.
From draining 3-point baskets to turnaround fadeaways, Alabama had no answer for the Tigers leading scorer as Broome finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
“I just came in being aggressive. I came in trying to be aggressive, and I was kind of feeling it a little bit. I just made some plays,” Johni Broome said postgame.
Alabama had Clifford Omoruyi guarding Broome to start the game. However, that matchup quickly changed to Mouhamed Dioubate after Broome scored six of the Tigers first 10 points.
When breaking down the scouting report for Alabama, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl knew Alabama wouldn’t send help defense when guarding Broome.
“We didn’t do anything too terribly fancy. We just gave him the ball, and they don’t double,” Pearl said. “They thought they could play him one-on-one, and they did a pretty good job on him. He missed nine shots; he made seven or eight. He had his double-double, and it was enough to get it done.”
Pearl added on the grit Broome displayed playing injured and stepping up when Dylan Cardwell fouled out in the second half.
“He sucked it up, he really did. He was tired early in the second half. You could tell he was dragging a little bit. I was worried we were going to run out of gas, especially with Dylan in foul trouble,” Pearl said. “But again, found a way, sucked it up, made history. Big win in here. But look, however many we’ve got left in the regular season, it’s just too early to talk about anything other than Arkansas on Wednesday.”
Since injuring his ankle in the South Carolina game, Broome has scored 15 or more points in six straight games. In the Tigers last three games against Alabama he’s averaging 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.
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Broome is now up to 75 career double-doubles and it’s the second most among active Division I players. Playing in a league with 13 projected teams to make the NCAA tournament, it would be hard not give him the honor.
Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at JHumphreyIII@al.com.
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‘Best Player in College Basketball’ – Johni Broome’s Impact Will Be Huge, Bruce Pearl Says
Mountain View
By Bjorn Bergstrom,
Prior to the Auburn Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs meeting on Saturday, Feb. 22, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl spoke about the impact Johni Broome will have in the second meeting with Georgia.
When the Tigers and Bulldogs last met on Jan. 18, Auburn came away with a 70-68 victory. Asa Newell, the Bulldogs’ freshman star, missed a layup with 0.3 seconds left that would’ve pushed the game into overtime.
Auburn, currently ranked No. 1 nationally, was still the top-ranked team in the country when they visited Athens, GA, in January. They escaped with a win — despite not having their best player, senior forward Johni Broome.
As the Tigers and Bulldogs meet today at 4:00 PM ET, Bruce Pearl made clear how important Broome’s availability is against Georgia — with a strong declaration.
It’s not hard to make the case; Broome is averaging 18.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.6 blocks per game, a terrific stat line that sounds even better when it’s taken into account that he’s been the engine behind the No. 1 team in the country for the majority of the season.
The 6’10, 240-pound forward has looked like a man amongst boys at times this season, with his strength and power combining with a deft touch around the rim and in the midrange. Not a particularly high-scorer per-se, Broome has been as steady as can be; he only has two games in which he didn’t reach double figure scoring — but he exited both of those games early due to injury.
His innate passing ability at his size makes everyone around him better. He’s tied for fifth in the country in rebounding — something that will come in handy against Georgia’s slew of big men.
“Georgia has a really deep front line, and so we were definitely down bodies at Georgia,” Pearl said. “But Georgia’s really good inside. This is a very good front line. Asa Newell will be a lottery pick as a power forward and they’ve got a three-headed monster at center, all three of those guys do different things.”
Pearl continued to emphasize Broome’s impact, saying, “Georgia’s got a very talented, very deep front line, that getting Johni back will be a big boost.”
As Pearl mentioned, the 6’11, 220-pound Newell has been a force for Georgia all season. Only a freshman, he’s averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He had a good performance against the Tigers in the first matchup, scoring 16 points and gathering 10 rebounds.
Newell will be at the top of the scouting report for Pearl and Tigers — but having Broome back healthy for the second meeting should mask defensive errors. Along with his excellence offensively, Broome’s 2.6 blocks per game rank ninth in the country.
KEEP READING: ‘This Is Why You Play for Bruce Pearl’ — Fans In Awe After Auburn’s Win Over Alabama
Although Auburn is talented enough to sustain some success when he’s been out, the Tigers are at their best when Broome is in the mix. After all, he’s the teams’ best player — and potentially the best player in the country.
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