Morehead State freshman phenom Johni Broome is one to watch in the NCAA tournament.
Morehead State (23-7) punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with an upset win over No.1 seed Belmont in the Ohio Valley Conference final 86-71.
The Eagles were led by freshman Johni Broome who was named tournament MVP after a career high 27 points and 12 rebounds in the final against Belmont.
Broome was also impressive in the opening win (61 -54) over Southeast Missouri State with 14 points and 11 rebounds as well as 17 points and 13 rebounds in the semi-final win (67-64) over Eastern Kentucky. His OVC tournament stats included: 19.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 58.5 FG%, 83.3 FT%.
The 6-foot-10 forward from Plant City, FL is just the third freshman in OVC tournament history to be named MVP.
Broome was also spectacular for the Eagles all throughout his freshman campaign averaging 13.9 points per game along with 9 rebounds earning the OVC Freshman of the Year honour as well as being named first team All-Conference.
Coming out of Tampa Catholic High School, Broome was rated as a 3-star recruit by Rivals and 24/7 with only two other mid-major schools interested in signing him (Bryant and Jacksonville).
After seeing Broome’s performance during the 2020-21 season its clear that Morehead State head coach Preston Spradlin got himself a steal by signing Broome.
Heading into the NCAA tournament, Morehead State has won 19 of their last 20 games including seven in a row. This is their first berth in the NCAA tournament since 2011 and its their fifth OVC tournament title in school history.
Broome’s stock is about to rise during March Madness.
With the way the Eagles have been playing since the beginning of January they are certainly capable of winning a few games in the NCAA tournament and then who knows what can happen from there.
