Johni Broome was dominant against the Spartans and returned late in the second half after appearing to sustain a game-ending injury (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A late-season swoon changed the narrative around an Auburn team that dominated as the nation’s No. 1 team for much of the regular season.
Consider that narrative a thing of the past. Auburn cruised on Sunday to a 70-64 win over Michigan State in the South regional final, securing its spot in the Final Four. It survived an injury scare to star Johni Broome along the way.
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Broome landed hard midway through the second half and appeared to hyperextend his right elbow. He left for the locker room and appeared to say “I’m done” as he walked off the floor.
But he returned to the game with 5:29 remaining and almost immediately hit a 3-pointer. From there, Auburn held on for the win.
Details of Broome’s injury weren’t clear in the immediate aftermath of the game. He clearly favored his left arm for the remainder of the game after his return. CBS reports that X-Rays from the locker room were negative.
Auburn’s win ensures that all four No. 1 seeds will meet in San Antonio. Duke, Florida, Houston and have already advanced to a Final Four that will crown an NCAA champion from among the nation’s best teams.
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As long as Broome is healthy, don’t count Auburn out of the equation. The Tigers raised doubts about their championship mettle with three losses in their last four games before the tournament. But those losses arrived against ranked SEC opponents Texas A&M, Alabama and Tennessee
Since then, the Tigers reeled off three consecutive double-digit wins in the NCAA tournament before handily beating the second-seeded Spartans. They did so on Sunday behind a monster effort from Broome, the only player not named Cooper Flagg who’s in the National Player of the Year conversation.
Broome set the tone from the opening tip, scoring Auburn’s first six points on a 3-for-3 effort early in the game. He then anchored a 17-0 Auburn blitz that gave the Tigers a 23-8 lead and put Michigan State behind the 8 ball for the rest of the game.
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Michigan State answered with a 7-0 run to keep the game competitive. But Auburn took a 33-24 lead into halftime to maintain control of the game. By then, Broome had already tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds. He did so against a Michigan State defense that repeatedly met him with single coverage.
The plan didn’t change after halftime, and Broome continued to feast until he initially left the game due to the injury scare with 10:37 remaining. Broome returned to the bench shortly after his late 3-pointer extended Auburn’s lead to 60-48.
He re-entered the game at 1:20 as Auburn held a 67-58 lead and was in and out of the game from there.
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Michigan State hit multiple late 3-pointers to keep some pressure on Auburn, but never threatened a comeback.
When the game was done, Broome had tallied 25 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. He shot 10 of 13 from the field and hit both of his 3-point attempts. His health status moving forward will be one of the major storylines ahead of next weekend’s Final Four.
