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5 hours ago
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The race for conference championships is now in full swing, as conferences begin to reveal their true favorites. In just over a month, the conference tournaments will kick off, followed by the grandest tournament of all—March Madness. Right now, the SEC stands as the best conference in all of basketball, with upsets brewing in nearly every game.
The SEC entered conference play this season setting records left and right. The most notable of these is their impressive 88.9% winning percentage in non-conference. As it stands, bracketologist Joe Lunardi projects 13 SEC teams to make the March Madness Tournament. Auburn, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, is leading the charge for the SEC.
However, Auburn's star player and current favorite to win National Player of the Year, Johni Broome, sustained a high ankle sprain during a game at South Carolina a couple of weeks ago. The injury initially looked severe, but it was later revealed that Broome avoided a season-ending setback.
Today, it was announced that Broome will be a game-time decision after participating in practice yesterday. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl told Field of 68 that while Broome is eager to play, they will need to see how his ankle responds after practice before making a final decision.
For Tennessee, their preparations for the top-ranked Tigers remain unchanged.
"We’ll prepare the same," Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. "It’s no different than preparing for a player who might get into foul trouble. If they're out, you have to be ready for who comes in behind them. So, we’re going to approach it the same way."
If Broome is able to suit up, Tennessee will be ready, as they’ve been preparing for the National Player of the Year frontrunner regardless of his injury status.
For Auburn, the goal remains the same: to stay undefeated in conference play, with or without Broome.
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