NASHVILLE — Auburn asked its fans to come to Music City and support their men’s basketball program in the Southeastern Conference championship game Sunday afternoon.
The fans answered the call in the seats at Bridgestone Arena. The Tigers did their part on the court.
Johni Broome had 19 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and as many assists to lead 12th-ranked, fourth-seeded Auburn past sixth-seeded Florida, 86-67, as the Tigers won the SEC tournament for the third time overall and second time under coach Bruce Pearl.
“All of the Auburn family got in their cars,” said Pearl, who is in his 10th season with the program. “They drove up north from North Alabama, Central Alabama, South Alabama.”
The Tigers (27-7) avoided the upset bug that took out the SEC’s top three seeds in Friday’s quarterfinals — they strolled past fifth-seeded South Carolina in that round — leaving them as the highest seed still standing after the third day of the tourney. They held off ninth-seeded Mississippi State to win again Saturday, then never trailed Florida in the final, adding to their titles won in 1985 and 2019.