Bruce Pearl said on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday morning that Auburn star forward Johni Broome will warm up ahead of the Tigers’ showdown against Tennessee with the hope that he can play.
Broome has been out for the past few weeks with a left ankle injury and hasn’t played since Jan. 11 against South Carolina. Broome suffered the injury in the victory over the Gamecocks, but the top-ranked Tigers (17-1, 5-0 SEC) have won their past 2 games without him. When Pearl was asked if he thought Broome would play in Saturday night’s top-10 game against the No. 6 Volunteers (17-2, 4-2), the Auburn head coach said, “I think so,” before explaining his line of thinking.
“I think there’s a chance. Listen, he’s gonna warm up. He went (Friday at practice), but he didn’t really push it,” Pearl said. “He wants to play but if in warmups he doesn’t feel good about it, he’s not going to play. But I’m guessing with (ESPN) here, with these guys here, Johni Broome is gonna take (the floor). That’s my guess.”
Broome, who is averaging 17.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game this season, was listed as questionable in Friday night’s availability report, which wasn’t the most promising outlook. However, Pearl’s comment on ESPN’s pregame show a day later suggests Broome has a good chance to make his return for Saturday night’s home showdown.
The 2 sides face off on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET. Auburn is a 6.5-point favorite at ESPN Bet.
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