Johni Broome injury update: Auburn big man pulls himself from game vs. Texas A&M

In the first half of Tuesday’s game against Texas A&M, Auburn big man Johni Broome grabbed at his left shoulder and immediately headed to the bench. The training staff immediately went to check on him to evaluate.

Broome previously dealt with a shoulder injury this season as Auburn became the No. 1 team in the country. However, that issue was with his right arm. Tuesday’s injury was to his left shoulder.

Broome didn’t go back to the locker room, but received treatment on the bench. He also was seen with a massage gun, using it on his left shoulder area. He returned to the game after the U12 timeout with 11:51 to play in the first half.

Broome is one of the frontrunners for National Player of the Year this season, along with Duke star Cooper Flagg. Entering Tuesday’s game against Texas A&M, he led the Tigers in four major statistical categories – averaging 18.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.4 blocks.

Those numbers are big reasons why Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Johni Broome is the top contender for National Player of the Year. However, he said there’s one more key to bringing home the award. The Tigers need to keep winning.

“The difference in that race, I think right now, is simply the body of his work,” Pearl said. “If we have 14 Quad 1 wins? He’s a huge part of what that’s all about. He’s our leading rebounder, he’s our leading scorer, he’s our leader in blocked shots, and he leads us in assists as a power forward. That just tells you what an incredibly valuable player he is.

“You know, in my mind, in my (running), if we continue to win and close this thing out, he is the Player of the Year in college basketball.

Tuesday night marked Auburn’s penultimate game of the 2024-25 season as the Tigers continue their march toward the SEC Tournament next week. They went through it without one of their top defenders, though. Denver Jones was in a t-shirt on the bench after entering Tuesday as a game-time decision against Texas A&M. His health will be important as the tournament gets underway next week from Nashville.

Jones is one of Auburn’s best two-way players this season. He’s averaging 10.7 points per game on the season and is one of the team’s best 3-point shooters with a 43.7% clip from beyond the arc.