Auburn men’s basketball hardly missed a beat without Johni Broome in its blowout win over Mississippi State Tuesday, but the Tigers would still prefer to have their All-American center for the upcoming Southeastern Conference gauntlet.

Bruce Pearl did not give much of an update during his Thursday news conference on when Broome is expected back, only saying that Broome will not practice Thursday.

Broome suffered his ankle sprain in the second half of Auburn’s 66-63 win over South Carolina, rolling his left ankle after stepping on Chaney Johnson’s foot.

Auburn announced the following day that the injury would not require surgery, but did not give a timeline for when Broome could return.

In Auburn’s first game without Broome, the Tigers looked dominant against Mississippi State, winning 88-66 and never looked in danger of losing control of the game. Johnson took Broome’s spot in the starting lineup, finishing the game with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Auburn’s next game will be another ranked clash, this time on the road against Georgia. Tipoff is scheduled for noon Saturday and will be streaming live on SEC Network.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m