Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome (4) makes a postal movement when Auburn Tigers takes on Tennessee-Demand at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., On Saturday, January 25, 2025. Auburn Tigers defeated Tennessee Volunteers 53-51. Auburn has endured some close calls recently.
But the unanimous No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 survey has won 11 games in a row on the way into its Southeastern Conference competition against LSU on Wednesday evening in Baton Rouge, LA.
Auburn (18-1, 6-0) had one of its most difficult and satisfactory winnings when it made the last six points in the game to rally by then no. 6 and visits Tennessee 53-51 on Saturday.
“We can play better, and we could still beat a good team,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. “We have won four of the last six matches in the last holding. There will be a battle every night.”
In Auburn’s last three road games, it defeated Georgia by two points, South Carolina by three and Texas by five. Tigers star forward Johni Broome missed the victory against Georgia and a victory of 88-66 home against Mississippi State due to an ankle injury but returned against Tennessee.
“It was rough, but we got it done,” said Broome, who led his team with 16 points, 14 returns and four blocked shots in 33 minutes versus volunteers.
Broome received one of his two assists on a 3-pointer by Miles Kelly who gave the Auburn lead for good with 30 seconds left.
In addition to everything Broome did to help his team on the court on Saturday night, Pearl praised “what Johni did with his rehabilitation all week to be able to come out and influence to win so much.”
“All he cared about was to win,” Pearl said. “As a leader there is another statement.”
Although Broome has returned, Pearl Auburn knows to be improved to stay on top.
“The big key is that you can’t get too high or too low,” Pearl said. “We have to get better. I have to do a better job. The book is out on everyone. What is Plan B? What is Plan C? We have to come up with it.”
LSU (12-7, 1-5) is near the bottom of Sec but had an encouraging performance against the then no. 4 Alabama for 40 minutes before falling 80-73 on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
“Disappointed with the result, but I definitely think we got better as a team,” said LSU coach Matt McMahon. “I really liked our preparation and way of thinking. I thought our guys came to compete and came to get into the fight. I loved the physics we played with during the first half.”
The point was tied after a first half, where LSU forward Corey breasts took 15 of its 18 returns.
“It’s just as good a recovery performance I’ve seen in half a basketball,” McMahon said.
LSU could not keep up with Alabama during the second half and be outscored 50-43 while he went 1-for-11 on 3-points to finish 3-for-23.
But McMahon was pleased with his team’s improvement in ball safety, which has been a major problem in SEC games.
On average, LSU is 4.2 more turnover per match than its Sec opponents, but it matched Alabama’s 14 sales and ended with an 17-11 advantage in points of sales.
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