Bruce Pearl praises Auburn for strong start rebounding

Auburn got back on track this week with a win over Georgia after losing both of their games last week. Against the Dawgs, it was the Tiger front-court that really showed out, led by the center duo of Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell. Broome put together a monster performance, perhaps his best in an Auburn uniform, with 19 points and 18 rebounds against the week Georgia front-line. Seriously, this UGA team has given up some massive performances down low. Two weeks ago, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe poured in 37 points and grabbed 24 boards against these guys. Then, this week, it’s Broome with nearly a 20-20 game.

Regardless of the opponent, it was nice to see the Auburn offense light a fuse against an SEC opponent. 94 points vs. the Bulldogs and led by their big men. After the game, Coach Pearl raved about his two five’s, Broome and Cardwell, for their dominance.

“You know, here’s the deal. Johni, you know, tonight, Johni and Dylan — we absolutely dominated the five position tonight — dominated,” said Pearl. “And I mean, just look at the numbers. I mean Dylan has three assists and one turnover. He has, you know, five rebounds. 19 and 18 for (Broome). They shot great percentages. You know, together, they’re 13 for 16. That’s dominant. They had the physical advantage tonight against a smaller, athletic Georgia team. That’s not going to be the case heading into the next, you know, four or five games. But they certainly took advantage of their size and their physicality tonight.”

To be frank, Georgia just doesn’t have the size or athleticism down low to match great front-court’s like Auburn. Their bigs aren’t power five level bigs — at least, not close to the average. So credit Broome, Cardwell and the rest of the Tiger big men for exploiting the other team’s weakness.

Auburn’s schedule features a swift change in the immediate future, as the Tigers will go from facing the league’s weakest front-court to seeing three of its best in a row. That’s right, it’s Tennessee, Teas A&M and Alabama up next. The Vols and Aggies are extremely physical up front and play excellent defense, meanwhile ‘Bama has the athletes to bury the opposition down low. Should be some telling tests for Broome and Cardwell.