Bruce Pearl praises Auburn offense, Johni Broome in first half of SEC Tournament championship game

Auburn is 20 minutes away from securing its first SEC Tournament title since 2019. Ahead 38-30 over Florida at the half, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl evaluated his team’s performance thus far.

“I thought we played really well offensively. We got what we wanted,” Pearl said. “We sent them to the foul line way too much. I think they had like six or seven field goals the entire half, so it’s great. I told our guys got keep it under 78 or something. We got chance to win this game.”

Florida’s free-throw shooting is keeping it in the game. The team went 12-13 from the charity stripe in the first half. Not to be outdone, Auburn trails closely behind, shooting 10-11 from the free-throw line.

Florida has failed to find many other points. The Gators only connected on 9-of-their-32 shot attempts in the first half and went 0-7 from beyond the arc. Further, Florida defense has struggled to stop Auburn standout Johni Broome.

“He had the advantage down on the inside,” Pearl said. “Florida double teamed him a lot. We’re getting him nice, deep touches and he’s taking care of business.”

Broome tallied a game-high 10 points in the first half while shooting 4-6 from the floor. The junior forward also hauled in six boards in the half. Auburn can’t slow down in the second half if it wants to emerge victorious.

Florida is just as hungry for the trophy. The program has not won the SEC Tournament since 2014. The contest will resume shortly on ESPN.

Bruce Pearl reveals Auburn’s hunger for postseason success

Of course, Auburn has its eyes set on a prize larger than the SEC Tournament. Ahead of the Tigers’ massive Sunday matchup, Pearl revealed Auburn’s mindset for the remainder of the season.

“I mean, we’ve been talking about trying to not lose again. That’s been our focus here in March, because I know, to the victor goes the spoils,” Pearl said. “I also know what it’s like for a community, our Auburn family, to travel to Nashville. You don’t want to lose the first game.

“Parents gotta go home, the band’s gotta go home, cheerleaders gotta go home. You want them to be able to stay in Nashville for a weekend and play for a championship. I’m confident we’re going to have a bunch of Auburn people driving up the highway from Alabama to cheer on the Tigers today.”