NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Newly minted SEC player of the year Johni Broome and his Tiger teammates returned to the Music City Wednesday afternoon, hoping to repeat as Southeastern Conference Tournament champions and win both conference crowns this season.
“All glory to God,” said Broome, who on Wednesday added Sporting News national college player of the year honors to the SEC recognition he received this week from the leagues’ coaches and the Associated Press. “It’s an honor to be the national player of the year for the Sporting News and SEC player of the year. It shows the work I’ve put in. It shows how my teammates have been committed to me and my coaches have been committed to me to allow me to make those plays and show off my skills.”
After winning the regular season with a 15-3 conference record, No. 3 Auburn earned the top seed in the SEC Tournament, which the Tigers have won twice before under Bruce Pearl, in 2019 and 2024.
‘“It’s all about step up,” said Pearl, the 2025 SEC coach of the year from the AP and his fellow conference head coaches. “What more do you have? The thing that gives me hope about this team is you’ve seen different guys throughout the year be able to step up and see another level. Another level is what you need in March.”
Ranked No. 1 for two months before dropping to No. 3 this week after ending the regular season with two losses, Auburn won a historically loaded SEC this year after earning impressive nonconference victories on its way to amassing a 16-4 record in Quad-1 games, the most in the seven seasons of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) era.
“They should have confidence, going through the grind we’ve gone through,” Pearl said. “We’re not at all bought into the theory of next weekend is the more important weekend than this weekend. They’re both very important.”
No. 3 Auburn (27-4, 15-3) will take on Ole Miss (22-10, 10-8), an 83-80 winner Thursday over Arkansas, Friday at noon CT at Bridgestone Arena on ESPN. Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will provide play-by-play and analysis for listeners on the Auburn Sports Network.
“I’d like our guys to continue to fight for the opportunity to make history,” Pearl said. “Can we surpass the 2019 team that got to the Final Four? There’s a lot of opportunity ahead of us. We are physically and emotionally in a good place, but again, that’s why you play the games.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer