AUBURN | On Saturday morning, some Tennessee fans decided it was a good idea to troll Johni Broome with Volunteer stuff on his car. That didn’t please the Auburn center at all.
“At that moment, I knew I was playing no matter what,” Broome said.
It didn’t surprise Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes to see Broome on the court.
“There was no doubt in our mind that he was going to play,” Barnes said.
That was good news for the Tigers as Broome put up 16 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, along with the assist to Miles Kelly for the three-pointer that put Auburn ahead for good with 30 seconds left in the 53-51 nailbiting victory.
Before the game, Broome took the court for warmups to a rousing cheer from the student section and looked good to go for the night. While he didn’t start, it didn’t take much time for the center to get back into the action, scoring four straight points in just more than a minute to give Auburn a three-point lead early in the first half.
And while Broome was held to seven points in the second half, his effort on the defensive side of the floor in the final 20 minutes — 11 rebounds, three blocks — was vital for Bruce Pearl’s squad. In the end, Broome played 33 minutes, much more than Pearl had planned going into the game.
“I thought maybe 20 minutes,” the coach said. “Maybe. Definitely didn’t see him playing this much.”
Even when he got switched on 5-foot-9 Zakai Zeigler late, Broome wasn’t giving the guard any space, forcing a drive to the basket and a miss to keep it a two-point game.
After the game, the Plant City, Fla., native was asked how healthy his ankle felt.
“Good enough to play,” he said.
