All the Tiger fans who called God asking for Johni Broome to be okay after a scary fall during the second half of Auburn's Elite Eight matchup against Michigan State got what they asked for. Broome returned to the floor for an unforgettable three down the stretch that helped put the eventual 70-64 win out of reach.
And he'll be healthy against Florida in the Final Four.
"i will be. All Glory to God," Broome said during his postgame interview when asked about Florida.
Game on, Gators.
"Call God" has become the motto for Auburn's second Final Four team in program history. It's only fitting that Broome gave such a shoutout with CBS cameras rolling and AU firmly in the national spotlight.
Side note: Should we be shocked Auburn responded to Alabama's first Final Four appearance with their second the very next season? That's perhaps the most underrated aspect of this magical run so far. Not that Tiger fans on social media are forgetting that.
If AU can win its next game, this will be the most accomplished team in Auburn's long basketball lineage -- a lineage that had sporadic success until Bruce Pearl built a perennial contender.
If they can win the game after that? Build Pearl a statue in front of the Neville Arena. Hell, consider renaming it Bruce Pearl Arena.
Before thinking of building any statues or hanging any banners, though, Auburn needs to handle a Florida team coached by Pearl's former Director of Basketball Operations, Todd Golden. As Jon Rothstein noted, that's one of the bigger storylines of AU-UF.
Broome's availability won't be.
God's been called. The 2024-25 Tigers got to experience the lows of an injury to their best player, like Chuma Okeke in 2019, with the happy ending of Broome being back and ready to finish the job.
Maybe it ends differently this time, though.