How might Auburn basketball handle a Johni Broome absence?
The All-American big man won't need surgery, but he'll likely miss multiple games. Here's how that could impact the Tigers on both ends.
(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers — via Twitter)
AUBURN — Just like it did around this time last month, Auburn basketball avoided the worst possible news this weekend when it came to the health of Johni Broome.
Broome sprained his left ankle in the second half of Auburn’s 66-63 win on Saturday at South Carolina and did not return to the game. He couldn’t put weight on the ankle, having to be helped off the floor both during and after the win by teammates.
After Broome underwent an MRI on Sunday morning, Auburn announced that he would not have to undergo surgery. Unlike his shoulder injury after a win over Georgia State in December, though, Auburn did not go any further with Broome’s status or give any sort of timetable for return. Bruce Pearl will speak with reporters Monday.
The belief is that Broome won’t miss a considerable amount of time with the ankle injury, but the exact length of the absence is indefinite. The injury looks more serious than the previous one to his shoulder, when Broome returned to the bench and played against Purdue a few days later.
At the absolute very least, it feels like Auburn will be without Broome for at least the upcoming week, when the Tigers host Mississippi State and travel to Georgia. Auburn will then get a midweek break before hosting Tennessee the following Saturday.
Losing a star player due to an injury would be a massive blow to any team. That especially goes for the loss of Broome, who was arguably the National Player of the Year frontrunner for most — if not all — of this regular season in college basketball.
But Pearl has built this team on a foundation of depth, chemistry and balance. Even though Broome was putting up first-team All-American type of numbers this season, Auburn is more than just one player. That was evident in the come-from-behind win over South Carolina on Saturday, and there’s some analytical backing to it as well.
According to college basketball analytics expert Evan Miyakawa and his predictive ratings system, Auburn drops from No. 1 to No. 9 in the country without Broome.
“Yeah, that’s how good this team is — and, really, how much higher the top tier of teams is compared to the rest,” Miyakawa told The Observer on Sunday.
As dominant as Broome has been this season, he was ranked outside the top 50 nationally in both usage rate and percentage of shots taken, which shows just how much a team is leaning on an individual. Broome is No. 4 in the SEC in usage and No. 5 in shot percentage, per KenPom. In terms of minutes played, he’s No. 25 in the SEC.
Broome’s absence will have an impact — and a significant one. There’s zero doubt about it. Auburn is likely going to have to dig deep to grind out contests without him, as he has been the literal centerpiece of the nation’s No. 1 offense and is leading the conference in both rebounds and blocks per game.
“It's gonna be just like it was for us in the second half,” Pearl said after the win over South Carolina. “It's gotta be the next man up. So, whether it be Dylan Cardwell or Chaney Johnson or Ja'Heim Hudson or Chris Moore — that's our depth on the frontline.”
Let’s take a look at what Auburn might have to do without Broome, starting with the defensive end of the floor and looking to the obvious impact on the offensive side.
(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)