After posting 24 points in a massive home win over Alabama on Feb. 7, Auburn junior Johni Broome was held to just 14 points in Saturday’s road loss to Florida.
The difference in production? Florida’s decision and the successful execution of double-teaming Broome.
“When he got every catch in the post we’re going to double him,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said of the Gators’ gameplan against Broome. “He was incredible on Wednesday against Alabama, like he made every play and I thought today we did a good job of making him see more jerseys, more bodies when he was in the paint.”
Florida’s length, which comes from 7-foot-1 Micah Handlogten and 6-foot-11 Alex Condon bothered Broome and Auburn’s fellow big man in Jaylin Williams, who scored just six points against the Gators after a 26-point effort against the Crimson Tide.
“They’re just so big and so long there was just a lot of length in the neighborhood inside,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said of Florida during a press conference Tuesday. “And Alabama did choose not to double. We had a significant size advantage over Alabama, we did not over Florida.”
Now, looking ahead to No. 13 Auburn’s Valentine’s Day date with No. 11 South Carolina on Wednesday, one of the biggest questions is how the Gamecocks will defend Broome and Auburn’s front court.
Pearl says the Gamecocks haven’t double teamed a ton this season. However, like Florida did, South Carolina will have a size advantage over Auburn.
Come tipoff Wednesday night, it’s expected South Carolina will start its 6-foot-8, 270-pound fifth-year forward B.J. Mack. Often joining Mack in the Gamecock’s starting lineup are Zachary Davis and Collin Murray-Boyles — two guys who are listed at 6-foot-7.
“You’ll see by the size of South Carolina, big, strong boys,” Pearl said Tuesday.
With the help of their size, the Gamecocks own the No. 1 spot in the SEC in scoring defense, holding their opponents to an average of less than 65 points per game — a mark that ranks 15th in the country.
Meanwhile, Auburn is averaging more than 82 points per game, which ranked 24th in the country and third in the SEC. When playing in Neville Arena, that stat swells a tad with the Tigers averaging just more than 85 points per game.
Nonetheless, Saturday’s 81-65 loss to Florida proved Auburn’s offense can be slowed when a team takes away the production of Broome and the Tigers’ front court — by double-teaming or otherwise.
“They said they don’t double but we’ll see how that goes,” Broome said when asked how he prepares for a team not knowing if they’ll double team him. “I hope that’s what they do, but some teams mix it up depending on how it goes.”
Regardless of the Gamecocks do, however, Pearl and the Tigers won’t be veering away from their strengths.
“We’re gonna play through our best players, and Johni is clearly one of our best players,” Pearl said. “We’ll continue to play through him.”