The Auburn Tigers needed a Johni Broome sized spark to get by the 6th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night

Bruce Pearl is hopeful that Auburn forward Johni Broome will make his return for Saturday night's top-10 showdown against No. 6 Tennessee.

Bruce Pearl provided an injury update for star forward Johni Broome ahead of Auburn's upcoming matchup with Tennessee this weekend.

The Auburn Tigers avoided a trap game, beating the LSU Tigers 87-74 as Johni Broome took another step towards player of the year.

The Auburn basketball team picked up an SEC win over LSU on Wednesday as their pursuit of a conference title continues. National Player of the Year

On the same day Auburn's Johni Broome suffered an ankle injury at South Carolina that sidelined him for two weeks, Duke's Cooper Flagg scored a career-high 42 points in a victory at Notre Dame. That's when the NPOY race flipped.

Auburn has endured a few close calls lately. But the unanimous No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll has won 11 consecutive games heading into its Southeastern

The Southeastern Conference is typically known as a football conference, with 13 of the last 18 National Champions in the sport coming from the storied league.

Bruce Pearl and top-ranked Auburn are 2-0 without star forward Johni Broome, who hopes to make his return on Saturday night.

Pearl expressed pride in having coached at both programs and he detailed what it's like to compete against Vols head coach Rick Barnes, whom he considers a friend. "These two team

While Auburn basketball's gotten some rest this week, the status of All-American Johni Broome for Saturday's contest against No. 6 Tennessee is still shaky.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl provided the latest on Broome's injury. When asked about Broome's status, Pearl didn't rule him out.