“We have the best frontline in the country…We take pride in each matchup that we go against and we’re going to bring it every night.” Johni Broome in the press conference, heaped praise on his teammates after a hard-fought win in the Sweet 16. The senior forward led his team to Elite Eight after a game high 22 points contribution. But coach Bruce Pearl had a different view of the stats and pointed it out during the press conference, which even caught the players by surprise.
“Denver went on a 10-0 run by himself. Tahaad went on a 10-0 run by himself. Just guys like that who can create shots, it takes the load off of me. I wasn’t playing my best game today, but I had my guards come through and take big shots.” After hearing this comment from Broome, the HC interjected with a compliment that was not a compliment to begin with. “Wait a second. You had a triple-double today. Look at the stats.”
The 6-10 forward knew his stats and was not falling for it. But his teammates beside him at the conference, Jones and Pettiford, started reading the stat sheet to confirm what they missed. Bruce Pearl then removed any confusion with his statement. “Scored 22 points, he had 16 rebounds, and missed 11 shots. You had a triple double.” The HC and three of his players started laughing as the criticism was valid. In order to improve, the 65-year-old laid down the message for the team.
“The deal was we turned the ball over a little bit. We made some mistakes, and I let them kind of jaw at each other a little bit and then go, ‘Hey, man, we’re good. We’re in a great spot. You guys are just pushing each other.’” Bruce Pearl continued, ” I love the energy. I love the pace. Just slow down a little bit with the ball. We’re just rushing.”
How Bruce Pearl and co. staged a comeback from the jaws of defeat
The Tigers knocked the No. 5 seeded Michigan Wolverines 78-65 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. This confirms the third time in program history that the Tigers have gone to the Elite Eight. It was the frontcourt of Auburn who stepped up on the important day and took the challenge head-on. They were successful in out-rebounding the Wolverines 48-33 and holding Goldin to just 10 points.
NCAA, College League, USA Basketball: SEC Basketball Tipoff Oct 15, 2024 Birmingham, AL, USA Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. Birmingham Grand Bohemian Hotel AL USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xVashaxHuntx 20241015_jla_hd1_059
The team grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, apart from Johni Broome’s game high 22 points, he also had the game high board with 16 rebounds. Dylan Cardwell chipped in with nine rebounds to his four points. The first half was deeply competitive as neither team managed to amass a lead of more than four points at any time. Michigan took a 27-23 lead on a 3-pointer from Nimari Burnett with 5:22 to play in the first half. But Auburn came back to claim a 30-29 lead at halftime.
The Wolverines fought back hard with a 10-0 run to retake the lead in the second half. However, thanks to the contribution from Tahaad Pettiford and Denver Jones were able to stretch their lead to 59-50. After that, Michigan could never come closer, and ultimately, it was the Tigers who won. Next up, they face Michigan State and would hope to repeat Bruce Pearl’s 2019 Final Four run.
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