Auburn is the No. 1 team in college basketball and has been for about over a month now. The Tigers have shown up in every game and competed, whether it was against a team with a winning record or against a team they knew they should beat. The teamwork this team puts out onto the court is something not a lot of other teams have, but there is one player for the Tigers that is showcasing a phenomenal season.
Johni Broome is in his third season with Auburn, and he is certainly leaving it all out on the court for his final season in an Auburn uniform. The fifth-year season, who transferred from Morehead State is not just having the best season of his time at Auburn, but the best season of his college basketball career.
Broome is averaging 19.8 points per game, 10.5 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists, and 28 blocks per game, which all lead the Tigers in those categories. He is also doing this in the SEC, the best conference in college basketball right now. His head coach, Bruce Pearl is certainly making a case for Broome to be Player of the Year, but ESPN anchor Peter Burns is also chiming in on the conversation.
Johni Broome > Cooper Flagg for the National Player of the Year.
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) February 24, 2025
More Points/Rebound/Blocks per game & he does it in the best conference in CBB.
Broome: 19.8 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.8 BPG, 58% FG
Flagg: 19.5 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.4 BPG, 47% FG
Broome has 15 games of 20/10
Flagg has 4 pic.twitter.com/eyVRIfkbl9
There are obviously other contenders for the Player of the Year, most known as Cooper Flagg out of Duke, but looking at the comparison, Broome should be leading the way. As Burns said in his tweet, Broome is doing what he does in the toughest conference in college basketball, whereas the ACC certainly has fallen from its once high graces.
Broome also has better stats than Flagg does, who averages 19.5 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, 2.4 blocks, and shooting 47% from the floor. Broome has 15 games where he has scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds where Flagg only has four games with those numbers.
Flagg is a phenomenal player, there is no denying that, but Broome beats him in almost every category and has led his team to the best record in basketball and the No. 1 rankings for a long time now. There really shouldn't even be a debate at this point.