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.

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.

Against Auburn, the Vols’ two leading scorers, Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier, were held to a combined 8-of-26 from the field as Tennessee only put up 51 points. They’ll need a performance similar to that to slow down LSU’s backcourt.

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

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

Predictions, picks and odds as No. 7 Tennessee basketball faces Auburn. Plus, injury updates and the latest news