When Johni Broome went down with an injury in the second half of Auburn’s Elite Eight win over Michigan State, Tigers fans saw their national championship hopes flash before their eyes. However, Broome returned to that game with a brace on his right elbow, and now in the Final Four with that same brace on and an occasional limp, the SEC Player of the Year just continues to carry his team.
Auburn took a 46-38 lead over Florida into halftime on Saturday night in San Antonio behind Broome’s 12 points and four rebounds in 16 minutes of action. Bruce Pearl immediately established his First-Team All-American and the senior transfer was unstoppable one-on-one in the post, torturing Florida’s big men as head coach Todd Golden threw waves of different defenders at him.
He may not be 100%, but Florida has not found an answer for Auburn’s superstar. On the day that he learned that Duke freshman Cooper Flagg was given the Wooden Award as the nation’s best player, Broome appeared to spend the entire first half attempting to prove those voters wrong on the biggest stage in the sport.
Broome went 5-10 from the field in the first half, a much more efficient outing than his last meeting against the Gators. Back on February 8, Florida visited Auburn and left with a 90-81 victory. The Gators held Broome to 18 points on 8-19 shooting with just two free throw attempts. However, Broome did manage to pull down 11 rebounds and dish out six assists in that contest.
Auburn has never made the national championship, but with its best player looking like a star despite injury concerns, the Tigers are just 20 minutes away with an eight-point lead.
Chad Baker-Mazara impressing despite injured thumb
Along with Broome, senior wing Chad Baker-Mazara entered this Final Four matchup against Florida with an injury to the thumb of his shooting hand that he suffered on Sunday against Michigan State and reportedly re-aggravated on Thursday in practice (according to CBS's Tracy Wolfson). Baker-Mazara had eight points in the first half and went 2-3 from three-point range.