Johni Broome cuts down net following injury scare, Final Four berth

Johni Broome survived an injury scare to return Sunday afternoon and lead Auburn to a Final Four berth. The Tigers star had 25 points and 14 rebounds in a 70-64 win against Michigan State for his third double-double of the NCAA Tournament.

Broome was front and center for the celebration after, including the traditional cutting down of the nets. The Auburn forward got the honor of stepping up on the ladder to cut down the final piece and take the net off the rum as the Tigers faithful in attandance went wild.

South Region MVP Johni Broome cuts down the nets in Atlanta as Auburn advances to the Final Four.

Large group of Auburn fans stayed to watch the postgame festivities. pic.twitter.com/nuk3kGzX61

— James Fletcher III (@jdfletch3) March 30, 2025

Broome briefly left the game with around eight minutes to go and was taken back to the locker room. Anxiety in the building rose, but thankfully  with just over five minutes left, Broome emerged, returned to the sideline, and checked back into the game immediately.

CBS sidelines reported Tracy Wolfson offered an update on air, saying that X-Rays came back negative after Broome appeared to twist his left ankle. But his return to the game and the celebration is certainly good news ahead of the Final Four.

Broome has been a leader all year for Auburn in his third year with the program. He is averaging 18.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game and was named the SEC Player of the Year for 2024-25.

Broome began his college career at Morehead State in 2020-21 and was the Ohio Valley Defensive Player of the Year by his sophomore season, when he had 3.9 blocks per game. He transferred to Auburn the following offseason and has been a key part of their success in each of the past three years.

Now he’ll get an opportunity to help guide the Tigers to their first national championship in program history. Auburn is set to take on Florida in the Final Four on Saturday, April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Bruce Pearl compares Johni Broome’s return from injury to legendary NBA moment

Bruce Pearl had an interesting analogy for the sequence. He likened it to a famous NBA happenstance while speaking with CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson after the game.

“It was the Willis Reed moment,” Pearl said in the postgame interview. “But then he comes out there, he bangs a three ball. And the whole place went absolutely crazy. You know where we’re going, Tracy? To the Final Four!”

Johni Broome also chimed in. He admitted he was worried.

“It is a scary moment,” Broome said. “I went down, but my team had my back. I went to the locker room, I still watched the game, and they kept it going. No dropoff. I came back, do whatever it take to help my team win.”

Shortly after checking back in following the injury, Johni Broome pulled down a one-handed rebound. Then he launched and drained a 3-pointer, to which the crowd went absolutely nuts. It sparked Auburn at a time when Michigan State appeared intent on rallying.

On3’s Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this report.