Johni Broome Clears the Air on Injured Elbow as Bruce Pearl Calls Out Auburn’s Major Failure Against Florida
Bruce Pearl and Todd Golden have been close friends ever since the Gators’ head coach served under Pearl nearly a decade ago. But during the Final Four showdown, their bond took a backseat as the two friends went head-to-head. “It is (awkward) because the relationship is that close,” Pearl admitted this week. “But if we have to play each other, let’s do it for a championship. I’m so proud of Todd and so happy for him.” Pearl knew Auburn’s 35–5 record and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament could be a game-changer — but things didn’t go as expected.
For 20 minutes, Auburn looked like a team on a mission. The Tigers came out aggressive, locked in, and seemingly unfazed by the looming challenge Florida presented. With a halftime lead of 46–38, it felt like Bruce Pearl’s squad was ready to make a statement. But what followed was a second-half stumble that turned promise into heartbreak, as the Florida Gators stormed back to steal the game 79–73. So, what went wrong? Well, the Head coach has got an answer!
During a post-game conference, Bruce Pearl didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, we knew they’d come out aggressively. But I was hoping that our starters would be able to withstand. I did not call timeout the first four minutes. I was trying to get to the TV timeout. We got to it. And, you know, obviously, those starters, my top five players, all seniors.”
“I just think that, again, we came out offensively, and we just— we didn’t run some of the things that we had talked about running the way we talked about running them,” Pearl admitted. “And so just 12 turn was bad execution, bad decision making, bad passing, catching. Took a lot of shots that we did not want to take.”
The Tigers had 14 total turnovers, giving Florida 16 points off those mistakes—more than double of Auburn’s 6 off Gator errors. And when the Tigers tried to answer in transition, they came up short again, scoring just 2 fast break points compared to Florida’s 4.
Yet, for a moment, it all looked possible. Chad Baker-Mazara led Auburn in scoring with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 4 threes. Dylan Cardwell was efficient down low with 9 points and 8 rebounds. Denver Jones chipped in 10. There were moments when Auburn’s offense flowed, and the team fed off each other’s energy.
But the second half belonged to the Gators, who outscored Auburn 41–27 in that stretch and chipped away at every bit of the Tigers’ early momentum. Auburn’s largest lead—9 points—was erased as Florida’s depth and intensity wore them down. However, the coach also felt that Johni Broomi could have done more to stop Walter as “height made the difference”. No, Broome didn’t sit back too.
He explained the reason for his inefficient defense. “I mean, my elbow felt fine going into the game,” Broome said honestly afterward. “Obviously, I mean, here and there it was bothering me a little bit, but I mean, nothing that I couldn’t play with.”
And he played through it. Broome logged 34 minutes, scored 15 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and even added 2 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. But down the stretch, when the game slowed, and every possession mattered, he couldn’t quite find his rhythm. He admitted as much.
“You know, I feel like we got the looks that we wanted to get,” he said postgame. “I wasn’t able to capitalize and finish them.”
The game had flipped. What once looked like a composed Auburn offence slowly unraveled as Florida turned up the pressure and brought out the best of their depth and size. Worse? The head coach’s hopes shattered!
How did Broome’s brilliance fade late as Florida shut down title dreams?
When Auburn needed its star the most, Johni Broome looked every bit like “the best player in college basketball,” just as associate head coach Steven Pearl described. In the first half alone, Broome carried the Tigers with a team-high 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He was dominant, efficient, and powerful—knocking down five field goals on 50% shooting and setting the tone for Auburn’s early 8-point lead heading into halftime.
Throughout March Madness, Broome had been Auburn’s heartbeat. He was the engine that powered the Tigers past the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, consistently leading in points and making his presence felt on both ends of the floor. Bruce Pearl had been vocal about his impact all season. As early as November, after Broome lit up the Maui Invitational, Pearl said, “If our team continues to play well, he is absolutely in the conversation for Player of the Year. He affects the game on both ends.”
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