Auburn overcame a halftime deficit to win at South Carolina, 66-63, extend its winning streak to eight games and remain No. 1 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And daily college basketball rankings.
That's the good.
But that bad is really bad — specifically that Johni Broome left the game in the second half with what Auburn coach Bruce Pearl subsequently called a "significant sprain" of his left ankle. Imaging to come, obviously. And I'm not a doctor, even more obviously. But one thing I do know from covering this sport for more than two decades is that when basketball players turn ankles like that, missed games usually follow. So Auburn fans are reduced to crossing their fingers and just hoping it's not as bad as significant ankle sprains often are.
"Johni Broome's got a sprained ankle," Pearl said afterward. "We'll go back to Auburn and we'll get an MRI and X-rays and see if there's anything more than that."
In a conference like the SEC, the clear-cut best league in the country, there are no simple weeks, point being that just about every game Broome misses could produce challenges. And then there's the race for National Player of the Year, a race that Broome has been leading but may not for much longer — in part because he's expected to be sidelined for an undetermined amount of time, in part because Duke's Cooper Flagg is coming on strong.
For what it's worth, Evan Turner missed six games in the 2009-10 season and still won multiple NPOY honors, including the CBS Sports National Player of the Year Award. So there's some wiggle room here for Broome. Regardless, this is not ideal, and depending on the severity of the injury, it could cost both the Tigers and Broome immensely.
As for my decision to leave Auburn at No. 1 despite an injury to its best player, I realize reasonable minds can disagree on this — but I've just never made a habit of punishing teams in the Top 25 And 1 for injuries until the injuries result in negative results. In other words, for the same reasons I didn't punish UConn in the Top 25 And 1 after Liam McNeeley was sidelined with an ankle injury, I'm not going to punish Auburn in the Top 25 And 1 simply because Johni Broome is now (presumably) sidelined with an ankle injury. If or when the injury impacts the Tigers' body of work negatively, I'll adjust accordingly. But, for now, Auburn remains No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 for the fifth consecutive morning.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Tahaad Pettiford finished with 15 points and two assists in Saturday's 66-63 win at South Carolina. The Tigers' next game is Tuesday against Mississippi State. | -- | 15-1 |
| 2 |  | Curtis Jones finished with 26 points and two steals in Saturday's 85-84 overtime win at Texas Tech. The Cyclones' next game is Wednesday against Kansas. | -- | 14-1 |
| 3 |  | Cooper Flagg finished with 42 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 86-78 win over Notre Dame. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Miami. | -- | 14-2 |
| 4 |  | Alijah Martin finished with 14 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 71-63 win at Arkansas. The Gators' next game is Tuesday against Missouri. | -- | 15-1 |
| 5 |  | Mark Sears finished with 27 points and four assists in Saturday's 94-88 win at Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday against Ole Miss. | -- | 14-2 |
| 6 |  | Chase Ross finished with 27 points and six steals in Tuesday's 74-66 win over Georgetown. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at DePaul. | -- | 14-2 |
| 7 |  | Zakai Zeigler finished with 16 points and eight assists in Saturday's 74-70 win at Texas. The Vols' next game is Wednesday against Georgia. | -- | 15-1 |
| 8 |  | Jaxson Robinson finished with 27 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 95-90 win at Mississippi State. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Texas A&M. | 2 | 13-3 |
| 9 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Thursday's 88-54 win over Washington. The Spartans' next game is Sunday at Northwestern. | -- | 13-2 |
| 10 |  | Josh Hubbard was 5-of-16 from the field in Saturday's 95-90 loss to Kentucky. The Bulldogs' next game is Tuesday at Auburn. | 2 | 14-2 |
| 11 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 54-40 win at Cincinnati. The Jayhawks' next game is Wednesday at Iowa State. | 2 | 12-3 |
| 12 |  | Zhuric Phelps was 9-of-29 from the field in Saturday's 94-88 loss to Alabama. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday at Kentucky. | -- | 13-3 |
| 13 |  | Jackson Shelstad finished with 24 points and three assists in Thursday's 73-71 win at Ohio State. The Ducks' next game is Sunday at Penn State. | 1 | 14-2 |
| 14 |  | Braden Smith finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds in Thursday's 68-50 win at Rutgers. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Nebraska. | 1 | 12-4 |
| 15 |  | PJ Haggerty finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 74-70 win over East Carolina. The Tigers' next game is Thursday at Temple. | 1 | 13-3 |
| 16 |  | Malik Dia finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 77-65 win over LSU. The Rebels' next game is Tuesday at Alabama. | 1 | 14-2 |
| 17 |  | Tre White was 3-of-12 from the field in Saturday's 82-72 loss to USC. The Illini's next game is Tuesday at Indiana. | 6 | 12-4 |
| 18 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 36 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 94-75 win at UCLA. The Wolverines' next game is Sunday against Washington. | -- | 12-3 |
| 19 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 68-60 win at Georgetown. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Creighton. | -- | 13-4 |
| 20 |  | Graham Ike finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 88-75 win over Washington State. The Zags' next game is Thursday at Oregon State. | -- | 14-4 |
| 21 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 15 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 87-57 win at Kansas State. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday against West Virginia. | -- | 12-3 |
| 22 |  | Ian Martinez finished with 18 points and three assists in Saturday's 81-79 win over Boise State. The Aggies' next game is Wednesday at UNLV. | -- | 16-1 |
| 23 |  | Asa Newell finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 72-62 win over Oklahoma. The Bulldogs' next game is Wednesday at Tennessee. | -- | 14-2 |
| 24 |  | Steven Crowl finished with 18 points and five rebounds in Friday's 80-59 win over Minnesota. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday against Ohio State. | -- | 13-3 |
| 25 |  | Norchad Omier finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 72-66 win at Arizona State. The Bears' next game is Tuesday at Arizona. | 1 | 11-4 |
| 26 |  | RJ Luis Jr. finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 80-68 win over Villanova. The Red Storm's next game is Tuesday against Georgetown. | NR | 14-3 |
