All-American Johni Broome’s early exit due to a right arm injury paired with foul trouble caused a discombobulated first half, but the No. 2 Tigers were able to put together runs down the stretch to pull away 100-59 over Georgia State.
“Obviously his right shoulder kind of came out, came right back. He did it a year ago, so he's had some experience with it. We'll take a look at it tomorrow and tell you more,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said following the game.
The national player of the year candidate got his right arm tangled up with Georgia State’s Nick McMullen in the effort to collect his first rebound of the night and immediately ran into the locker room for further evaluation.
Broome would ultimately be ruled out for the rest of the game sitting on the bench with his right arm in a sling.
“Again, we'll know more tomorrow. But if you wouldn't be available, I'm sure Chaney Johnson would be moving in, because Chaney could be starting this year very easily,” Pearl said of a potential plan if Broome isn't available against Purdue on Saturday.
With Broome’s absence presented Auburn’s big men with a unique opportunity but both Dylan Cardwell and Ja'heim ‘Turtle’ Hudson collected three and two fouls respectively in the first half causing typical forward Chaney Johnson to roll out to the five for large portions of the game.
“Obviously Chaney Johnson was dominant. You know, Chaney plays best against our most physical opponents,” Pearl said. Georgia State plays hard and physical. Had some tough kids and Chaney always plays better in those situations. And I'm really proud of him.”
Johnson responded with a career-high 26 points, shooting 12-for-14 from the field, along with eight rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes of action.
“I'm really not surprised,” Auburn point guard Denver Jones said. “I see Chaney day in, night out in the gym, plenty of work sitting with a trainer all the time. So it really is no surprise, but honestly it just goes to show how deep our team is, like one person goes down Chaney takes a big step.”
Denver Jones recorded his eighted game in double figures in his last nine contests with 17 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field and 5-for-7 from deep. The senior guard has made three-or-more shots from beyond the arc in the last three games.
“Don't you feel like he's going to make it every time he shoots it,” Pearl said of Jones. “Our guys have done a pretty good job of getting him open to setting good screens. And again, the offense has got some guys that can shoot it…to score 100 points without our best player is great.”
After his seven-straight games in double figures streak came to an end against Ohio State on Saturday, Chad Baker-Mazara knocked down 4-of-11 shots from the field, along with 6 assists, to finish with 19 points on the night despite missing all four of his 3-point attempts.
“Chad affects the game in a lot of ways. He's probably upset that he was four-for-11, and we're going to visit with him about that, getting better shots, getting better looks. He shoots at a much higher percentage than that. He's a very, very efficient player, so the fact that he's four-for-11 will bother him.”
It’s been since November 18 – Auburn’s matchup against North Alabama – that Baker-Mazara has missed a free throw, now with 34-straight from the charity stripe. The senior went 11-for-11 on free throws against the Panthers.
Baker-Mazara’s 34-straight free throws matches the program record set by Wendell Green Jr.
“Defensively, that was important to keep those guys down a little bit, because they're average 75 they got some really good one-on-one players that run some good stuff,” Pearl said. “With the exception of getting beat on the boards a little too much, I thought it was a pretty solid effort.”
The Tigers were once again suffocating on defense, turning the Panthers over 20 times on Tuesday night creating 30 points. Auburn also recorded nine blocks along with 11 steals while holding the Panthers’ top two guards, Toneari Lane and Zarique Nutter, to three-for-17 from the field and misses on all seven attempts from deep.
“I think a combination of a little bit of our length for our guards. It was a bit of a bugaboo for us a year ago,” Pearl said of his guards’ improvement defensively. “And I think I’ll give Denver Jones the credit for leading our guards, and then I’ll give the other guards credit for just putting more time and attention, effort and energy into it. Obviously a big part of the difference between this year and last year.”
Whether No. 2 Auburn is with or without star Johni Broome in the immediate future, the Tigers will once again hit the road for a ranked matchup taking on No. 16 Purdue in Birmingham, AL on Saturday with a potential sixth quad-one win in their first 12 games on the line.
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
