Auburn forward Johni Broome returned from an ankle injury by coming off the bench early in the first half in Saturday night’s home game against No. 6 Tennessee.
Earlier in the day, Pearl told ESPN that Broome, who has been out since Jan. 11 with an ankle injury, practiced “some” on Friday. He was questionable to play. Broome ultimately took part in warmups, and was the first player off the bench for Auburn with just under 18 minutes left in the first half.
Pearl added on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday morning that Broome wouldn’t play a normal load of minutes if he is available. His ankle has been heavily taped the past two days in practice.
Auburn has managed to thrive in Broome’s absence, as it won the game at South Carolina when the injury occurred and beat both Mississippi State at home and Georgia on the road without Broome.
No. 1 Auburn projects as the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Broome has been its top player, as he was considered the front-runner for National Player of the Year before the injury. Broome is Auburn’s leading scorer and rebounder with 17.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.
Another key player was less than 100 percent for the top-10 clash. Tennessee star guard Jordan Gainey has flu-like symptoms, per a team spokesman, and was listed as questionable. He also entered the game off the bench for the Vols.
Gainey didn’t travel on the team bus — but rather with the support staff — on the ride from the airport to the team hotel. His status is expected to be monitored throughout the day, though a spokesman noted that Gainey is set to go through shootaround.
Gainey is Tennessee’s third-leading scorer with 11.2 points per game.
