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Johni Broome calls out Auburn players after loss to Tennessee: 'Some people didn’t show up ready to play'

Danby: Daniel Hager03/12/26DanielHagerOn3

No. 12 seed Auburn fell to No. 5 seed Tennessee 72-62 in the Second Round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday, putting the Tigers’ NCAA Tournament at-large hopes up in the air. Heading into Selection Sunday, Auburn sits at 17-16 and is listed as the ‘First Team Out’ in Joe Lunardi‘s latest Bracketology.

Following the loss, Auburn great Johni Broome took to social media to call out the effort of the team in the 10-point defeat.

“Some people didn’t show up ready to play,” Broome tweeted.

It looked as if Auburn was on track to earn a spot in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals, as it held a 51-41 lead with 10:26 remaining in regulation. Over the final 10 minutes, however, Tennessee completely took over the game. The ‘Vols outscored the Tigers 31-11 over the final stretch of the game to kill whatever shot Auburn had at being safely inside the NCAA Tournament field.

Star guard Tahaad Pettiford showed up for Auburn, scoring 28 points (9-18 FG, 5-10 3PT) in what could be his final game in a Tiger uniform. The rest of the team, however, did not. Just one other Auburn player scored in double-digits, as Keyshawn Hall had 10 on 4-14 shooting. The Auburn bench contributed just seven total points (all from Sebastian Williams-Adams), and starters KeShawn Murphy, Elyjah Freeman, and Kevin Overton combined for just 17 points on 6-18 shooting.

Joe Lunardi is OUT on Auburn making NCAA Tournament field

“Miami‘s loss and bid-thievery ruined the day for Auburn, even before the Tigers fell in the SEC Tournament to Tennessee,” Joe Lunardi said. “There is a metrics gap between the last two teams in the field (Texas and SMU) and Auburn, which may no longer have a path to moving up and into the bracket.”

Lunardi spoke on Wednesday about Auburn potentially hearing its name called on Selection Sunday, even if with a loss to Tennessee. Mid-major conferences were the main selling point, needing the heavy favorites to cut down the nets this weekend.

“You’re talking about the major conferences, Auburn needs to be rooting for Miami (OH) and Saint Louis once we get into those tournaments later in the week,” Lunardi said on SEC Network. “That’s where their fate is really going to lie. And if everything goes right for them, I’m saying it right now, they don’t even have to win tomorrow.”

Miami (OH) did not aid the Tigers in any way, falling to UMass in the Quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament on Thursday. Selection Sunday will be a long one for Steven Pearl‘s team, hoping to hear its name called.