Johni Broome injury: Lamont Paris sends well wishes to Auburn star

Despite losing Johni Broome to an ankle injury Saturday, No. 2 Auburn avoided the upset on the road against South Carolina.

Gamecocks head coach Lamont Paris, while acknowledging the fight in his guys, sent well wishes to the Auburn star. One of the best players in all of college basketball, it’s a significant loss for Auburn if Broome is out long term.

“Hopefully Johni Broome, it’s nothing too serious,” Paris said postgame. “I think it looked like his ankle, but hopefully it’s something where he’ll be back sooner rather than later.”

Broome went up for a rebound and landed on Chaney Johnson’s foot, rolling his ankle in the process. He immediately yelled in pain as he grabbed for his left leg, and he needed help from the training staff to get to the locker room.

At the time of his injury, Broome had six points and three rebounds in 24 minutes of action. He was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game, an Auburn spokesperson told The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman.

Auburn trailed South Carolina 40-34 at halftime, but the Tigers mounted a rally in the second half. They held a 64-63 lead with 29.5 seconds to play, which led to a Gamecocks timeout. Nick Pringle then drew a foul on Dylan Cardwell out of the huddle, but he missed both free throw attempts.

Auburn then got the ball back on the jump ball with 7.4 seconds left, and that’s when South Carolina had to foul. The Tigers ended up holding on for the 66-63 victory to stay undefeated in league play.

Through the first part of the year, Broome generated some buzz for National Player of the Year. He entered Saturday’s game averaging 18.7 points and 11.2 rebounds, ranking fifth in the nation in the latter category. He’s also averaging 2.7 blocks through the first 15 games, including two in SEC play.

The schedule doesn’t lighten up any time soon. Auburn has No. 14 Mississippi State Tuesday, Georgia next Saturday and then No. 1 Tennessee the following Saturday (January 25th).

Where does that leave the Tigers without Broome? It’s a hole to fill for sure. Head coach Bruce Pearl said they would get Broome an MRI and only mentioned it was a significant sprain.