The No. 1 Auburn Tigers took down Georgia 82-70 on Saturday, securing the regular season sweep over the Bulldogs behind a dominating performance from national player of the year candidate Johni Broome.
The victory lifted Auburn to its second straight sweep over Georgia, and its fifth in the last eight seasons. The Tigers have won 13 of the last 16 meetings with the Bulldogs, with their most recent loss coming in January of 2023.
“Beating Georgia matters to Auburn, it matters to me,” head coach Bruce Pearl said. “I believe that is 13 out of the last 16. That’s a pretty good stretch against one of your rivals.”
Broome racked up 31 points in Saturday’s win – the most in his three seasons on the Plains – along with 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. He became just the fourth senior to record 30 or more points in an Auburn uniform.
Johni Broome (#4) celebrates a defensive play versus Georgia in Neville Arena on February 22nd, 2025.
Despite poor shooting from both squads in the first half, the star forward made his presence known early, contributing 12 of Auburn’s 29 first half points. As a team, the Tigers only shot 30.6% from the field and 30.8% from deep during the first 20 minutes of action.
After going 4-for-11 from the field in the opening period, Broome tallied 19 points in the second half, including a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-7 from the free throw line.
Auburn’s offensive production drastically improved when he was successful around the basket and active on the glass. The Tigers recorded 59.3 FG% and 86.4 FT% as a team in the second half, shooting 19-for-22 from the charity stripe to propel them to a 12-point win.
“That’s why he’s player of the year,” Pearl said. “Unbelievable poise. He plays at a great pace offensively and the fact that he’s patient, calculating and the fact that he attacked the rim like he did in this game so much. I mean, that was the biggest difference at the end of the day. We had 4 and they didn’t. And 4 played pretty good tonight.”
The win marked Broome’s 77th double-double of his career, ranking him second among active D-I players. He is fifth nationally in double-doubles this season with 17.
Achieving his 41st double-double at Auburn, Broome is tied for third-most among all SEC players in the last 25 seasons, only trailing Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe (48) and LSU’s Glen Davis (44).
“He prepares like a pro. He spends more time in the training room, not only just because we've got some injuries, but also preventative stuff. He's invested in his development. He's got his own trainer who was here a little bit during the course of this week. And I just think that their family is invested in him trying to be the best possible player he could be. And again, he's got Broome tattooed on the back of his shoulders, and he's got Auburn right here in front, and he represents both really well.”
The top-ranked Tigers will return to Neville Arena on Wednesday night to take on No. 24 Ole Miss. The game will tipoff at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
