In a game between two of the most physical teams in college basketball, Broome was the one force the Spartans couldn’t match.

Broome finished with 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting and 14 rebounds, anchoring both ends of the floor as Auburn reached the sport’s biggest stage for just the second time in school history. 

"We did most of the things we wanted to do except guard Broome a little better," MSU men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo said postgame. "It wasn’t the points he scored that got us … It was just he was 10 for 13. That’s why he’s an All-American. That’s why he’s a Player of the Year candidate."

The runner-up favorite for the 2025 Naismith Trophy was simply too much for the Spartans, scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds in the first half, his second straight game featuring a double-double in the opening 20 minutes. 

"I didn’t think we did a great job on the boards and I didn’t think we came up with enough loose balls, and they came up with a couple that cost us a lot," Izzo said.

For all of the looks MSU threw at him, Broome had his way from the opening tip. The Spartans didn’t double him in the post early, and he feasted — hook shots, fadeaways, reverse layups. When help came, he slipped free. 

Even after an injury scare — going down hard on his elbow — with 10:37 remaining, Broome returned and instantly drilled a three, stretching Auburn’s lead to double digits.

MSU never fully recovered.

MSU shot just 8-for-30 in the first half and fell behind by as much as 15 after a 17-0 Auburn run, spending the rest of the game trying to claw back.

"We were kind of fighting back from that the whole game," redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. said. 

While MSU freshman guard Jase Richardson showed flashes of usual brilliance and junior forward Jaxon Kohler provided much-needed scoring inside, the Spartans’ offense was spotty. Veteran guards Tre Holloman and Jaden Akins combined to shoot 6-for-27, and MSU shot just 22-for-64 (34%). 

After a 30-win season marked by its resilience, balance and collective toughness, MSU came up short against a team capable of matching, and surpassing, its physicality. Auburn’s combination of length and strength proved too much — and at the center of it all was Broome. 

"They got some good bigs down there who contest every shot at the rim," Holloman said. "We didn’t get clean looks, for real. Some of them we did, but our shots, they just weren’t falling."

Auburn now joins the Final Four, featuring every No. 1 seed for just the second time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, alongside 2008.

Behind their star big man, Auburn is still dancing.  

The Spartans, meanwhile, head home six points shy of the Final Four after beginning the season unranked.