Johni Broome sat out practice Tuesday and will be held out again Wednesday as the Auburn Tigers complete on-campus preparation for their game with the Florida Gators at the Final Four in San Antonio.
Broome, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, briefly left Auburn’s regional final win over Michigan State with an elbow injury. Tigers coach Bruce Pearl said Broome likely would be on the floor for parts of practice on Thursday before the Tigers hit Texas and follow Florida with a scheduled in-stadium workout scheduled for Noon ET on Friday.
Assistant coach Steven Pearl said on The Next Round podcast Tuesday that Broome would “continue to rehab the seven different things that he injured on that one play. … As the week progresses, hopefully his status does as well.”
Broome was fully capable of climbing a ladder and cutting down the nets after the South Region final, but he appeared to injure his left leg on the same play that taxed his right elbow.
Pearl said there is “no injury” to Broome’s elbow after testing but does have “stress” in the joint.
Broome scored 25 points with 14 rebounds in Auburn’s 70-64 win over Michigan State on Sunday in Atlanta. He’s averaging 18.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 blocks per game this season and is viewed as the only Naismith National Player of the Year contender with a chance to challenge Duke’s Cooper Flagg for first-place votes.
In four NCAA Tournament games last month, Broome averaged 17.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game.
Broome had 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks in Auburn’s 90-81 home loss to Florida on Feb. 8.
–Field Level Media
