The crowd at State Farm Arena in Atlanta went silent with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game as Auburn star Johni Broome walked off the court, holding his elbow and wincing in pain. Television cameras caught the fifth-year senior wording “I’m done” as he walked off the floor with his mother coming down to be with him.
Six minutes later, the national player of the year candidate returned to the court and buried a triple from the right wing. The memorable shot served as the dagger to Michigan State‘s Final Four hopes and sent the Auburn faithful into a frenzy.
For the second time in the last six years, the Tigers are heading to the Final Four after a 70-64 win over Michigan State in the South Regional final.
Bruce Pearl, who has done an incredible job building this Auburn program into a basketball destination, powered the Tigers to a 27-2 start and the No. 1 ranking in the FOX Sports Top 25 throughout the majority of the season. After entering the NCAA Tournament with three losses in four games, it looked as though Auburn might have been on the wrong side of what the tournament can be about sometimes, peaking in March.
But Broome and Auburn would not be denied, dominating from the jump against the Big Ten regular-season champion Spartans, whose season ended after one of Tom Izzo’s all-time coaching jobs.
After Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford combined for 54 points in Auburn’s win over Kentucky on Friday, Sunday was about Broome. A 17-0 run in the first half over a span of five minutes gave the Tigers an early 23-8 lead just 10 minutes into the game. The Spartans tried to chip away, but the deficit proved to be too much in a game they led for just 22 seconds.
Broome ended with a game-high 25 points and 14 points, while Pettiford added 10 points. The Tigers’ defense made it hard on Jaden Akins and Jase Richardson to find a rhythm, holding the duo to 10-of-30 shooting from the floor.
But the day was about Broome, who went from looking like his season might be over due to injury, to flying out of the tunnel to loud cheers and willing his program to the Final Four in San Antonio next weekend.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.
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