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Johni Broome, Tahaad Pettiford featured on latest cover of SLAM University

Untitled design (2)by: Sam Gillenwater03/07/25samdg_33

SLAM University covers the best in college basketball for Slam Magazine. With that, the best team in the sport this season has been highlighted in their latest cover and story that the company released on Friday.

SLAM ‘U shared the new cover this afternoon featuring Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford of the Auburn Tigers on it. With that came all of the content from their shoot down on The Plains as well as the reveal of it to the players and their reactions to it.

Jared Ebanks wrote the story for SLAM. The cover also comes with merchandise for sale with the main photo of the two.

Auburn has been the top team in college basketball this season with a record of 27-3 overall under Bruce Pearl. They’ve won the regular-season title in the Southeastern Conference, the most difficult league in the country this year, outright with a mark of 15-2 as they’ll be the No. 1 seed next week in the SEC Tournament. Those marks include 15 Quad 1 wins per the latest in the NET Rankings. All that has them projected to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament as a favorite to win the national title.

Broome is the biggest part of that season for the Tigers. He has had a career-best season averaging 18.0 points (50.4% FG), 10.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.4 blocks per game as a fifth-year senior. That has him in contention to be an All-SEC honoree again and SEC Player of the Year plus an All-American and National Player of the Year.

Pettiford is also having a great year as a true freshman for Auburn. He’s posting 11.3 points (43.3% FG, 38.5% 3PT), 2.9 assists, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 steals. That will earn him, a former four-star and top-five point guard, recognition as one of the top freshmen in the country.

This is a very neat honor that Broome and Pettiford will get to share. It’ll be the first of many for them, though, over the course of March and, with what they expect, into the start of April.

Dick Vitale emphatic that Auburn is No. 1 overall seed ‘no matter what happens’

Auburn has the best resumé in the country this season. ESPN’s Dick Vitale doesn’t see that changing either before the NCAA Tournament.

On Thursday, Vitale, who will be calling their next game this weekend, posted a picture of the top college basketball teams’ records against opponents in Quad 1 opponents. The Tigers lead the nation in that statistic with 15, which is three more than the second-most in the nation for Michigan State.

“Looking at these numbers no matter what happens this weekend or during Championship Week @AuburnMBB on Selection Sunday will be # 1 on the 1st line,” Vitale tweeted. “Can’t deny these numbers – heading to @AuburnMBB vs @AlabamaMBB in rivalry battle Saturday 2 :30 EST. @espn @coachbrucepearl.”