It appeared Johni Broome‘s day was done in the Elite Eight and Auburn was going to have to play the final 10 minutes of Sunday’s game against Michigan State without its top star. Instead, Broome made a key contribution that sent the Tigers to the Final Four with their 70-64 win over the Spartans.
Broome departed the game with just over 10 minutes remaining when he awkwardly landed on his right elbow. After a few moments, Broome was able to get up and walk off the court under his own power. However, he went straight to the locker room. He told teammates to finish the game and said he wasn’t feeling OK when asked by Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, according to the CBS broadcast.
Even though Auburn held a 50-40 lead at the time of the injury, the absence of the unanimous All-American was immediately felt. The Tigers shot 1-of-6 from the field following the injury, seeing their lead shrink to eight points.
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Auburn slowly began to heat back up, scoring on back-to-back possessions to take a 57-46 lead with 6:29 left. Right after Chad Baker-Mazara’s 3-pointer gave Auburn that 11-point cushion, Broome made his way back to the bench. He re-entered the game with 5:29 remaining as Michigan State made a pair of free throws to cut Auburn’s lead to 57-48, with his right elbow being wrapped up.
On his second possession back in the game, Broome made his presence felt. He drained a 3-pointer that gave Auburn a 60-48 lead with 4:48 remaining.
Even though Broome ended up being OK, he admitted that the injury was a “scary moment.”
“I went down, but my team had my back,” Broome told CBS Sports. “I went to the locker room, I still watched the game. They kept it going, no drop off. I came back and did whatever it takes to help my team win.”
Broome left the game again during a media timeout with 3:47 remaining, but X-rays on his elbow were negative, according to CBS Sports. As Michigan State made it a seven-point game with 1:40 remaining, Broome was put back in with 1:26 left. He missed two free throws after being intentionally fouled with 19 seconds left.
Broome, who is one of the two top candidates for National Player of the Year, had 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with 12 rebounds at the time of the injury. He finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
Auburn will now take on Florida in the Final Four, where it’ll almost certainly need Broome in order to win. He’s not worried about the injury, though, telling CBS Sports that he “will be” ready to play on Saturday. Florida won the only matchup between the two teams this season, winning 90-81 on Feb. 9 as Broome scored 18 points to go with 11 rebounds.
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