After passing its first test without All-American Johni Broome, visiting No. 1 Auburn hopes to keep the momentum going on Saturday afternoon against No. 23 Georgia in Athens, Ga.
Broome, fifth in the Southeastern Conference with 17.9 points per game, suffered a left ankle sprain in the Tigers’ 66-63 win at South Carolina last Saturday. He avoided surgery but was ruled out indefinitely.
Auburn (16-1, 4-0 SEC) extended its winning streak to nine games on Tuesday by breezing to an 88-66 victory over No. 15 Mississippi State at home.
Chad Baker-Mazara led Auburn with 20 points and Chaney Johnson added 17 after being thrust into the starting lineup for the first time this season.
While Broome’s production certainly will be missed, head coach Bruce Pearl’s team doesn’t lack depth.
“We’re going to miss Johni on the offensive end more than anything,” Pearl said. “He’s such a great offensive player and such an unselfish passer. We can do a lot of game planning around him. But our guys knew what they needed to do (Tuesday). I thought everybody on the roster stepped up.”
In the gauntlet that is SEC league play, Pearl knows games are won with toughness. So far, it’s been Johnson who’s stood out on that front.
“Chaney Johnson is my hardest working player,” Pearl said. “Nobody on this team would argue with that. Whether it’s developing his body, working on his jump shot. … He gives us a good shot going forward.”
Baker-Mazara is averaging 13.1 points per game and Tahaad Pettiford’s contributes 11.3.
After wins over No. 6 Kentucky and No. 17 Oklahoma, Georgia entered the Top 25 this week for the first time since January 2011. The Bulldogs (14-3, 2-2) likely will have to pull off another upset on Saturday to stay in the rankings following Wednesday’s 74-56 loss at No. 6 Tennessee. Georgia led by a point at halftime before being outscored 49-30 in the second half.
“Our overall body language I thought was phenomenal in the first half,” Georgia head coach Mike White said. “And then early in the second half, we were just different defensively. We found ourselves in a hole there pretty quickly.”
Georgia will look to rebound at home, where it sports an 11-0 record this season.
“It’s going to be a battle,” White said of Saturday’s matchup. “We look forward to Stegeman (Coliseum) rocking and giving Auburn our best shot. We’ll have to flush this one as soon as possible.”
In Tuesday’s loss, freshman Asa Newell led Georgia with 13 points, while Silas Demary Jr. scored 12.
On the season, Newell paces the Bulldogs with 15.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Dakota Leffew chips in 12.1 and Demary adds 11.9.
Georgia will play at Auburn on Feb. 22.
–Field Level Media
