Auburn star Johni Broome left Saturday’s game at South Carolina with a left ankle injury, and No. 2 Auburn survived to win 66-63.
Broome left the game with 13:46 left in the second half when he was contesting a Collin Murray-Boyles shot at the rim and Broome’s left foot landed on the left foot of teammate Chaney Johnson. Broome had to be helped off the floor with what appeared to be a left ankle injury. He went straight to the locker room and never returned.
The Tigers were trailing 47-45 after that Murray-Boyles bucket, but their defense helped them get the win without Broome, who has arguably been the best player in college hoops this season and the favorite for National Player of the Year.
Auburn (15-1, 3-0 SEC) likely will be the new No. 1 in the AP poll on Monday, but this is a different team without Broome, who has missed only one game in three seasons at Auburn. Auburn’s next game is Tuesday at home against No. 14 Mississippi State.
If Broome is out, Johnson likely will start in his place. The Johnson-Dylan Cardwell frontline has been Auburn’s third-most used frontcourt this season and went into Saturday’s game outscoring opponents by 32.5 points per 100 possessions together on the floor without Broome.
Auburn struggled down the stretch to score, going four minutes, 15 seconds between baskets until Tahaad Pettiford fed Cardwell for a dunk on what turned out to be the game-winning basket. The Tigers will likely lean more on their perimeter scoring without Broome. Pettiford led the team with 15 points, followed by senior guard Miles Kelly’s 14 points. Those were the only two Auburn players to score in double figures. Broome finished with six points on 3-of-11 shooting in 24 minutes.
But the Tigers survived, and it may have been a costly loss in what’s going to be a tough SEC race. South Carolina (10-6, 0-3 SEC) is the lowest-rated team in the league at KenPom.
(Photo of Broome, left: Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)
