Broome Sweeps Auburn to Come-From-Behind Thriller Over 1982 Idaho

The 1982 Idaho VABG basketball player cards had the most balanced and strongest shooting ranges of any team we’ve seen among our 300 great all-time teams. All five starters either scored or were fouled on at least all rolls of 1–12 on the 20-sided die, making them look scary hard to beat. They look like a team that played at a slightly slower pace but would have been one of the top offenses on www.kenpom.com if it had existed then.

They won their first 12 games, including neutral-site wins over #16 Oregon State, Oregon, and Iowa State by an average margin of over 20 points per game. They then lost back-to-back games at Montana and Notre Dame by two points each — yes, they were four points from starting 25–0 — because they followed that with 11 more wins in a row to get to 23–2, ending with a Sweet 16 win over then-#16 Iowa and a surge to #6 in the country.

By then, AC Green and Oregon State had recovered from the early-season blowout loss and were up to #4 in the country, setting up an Elite 8 rematch as a #4 vs. #6 game. Oregon State won the rematch to end Idaho’s incredible season at 23–3.

We honestly looked at the cards and thought they looked very tough to beat, even though our math showed 2025 Auburn as a slight favorite. Auburn looked like the top team in the country for most of the 2025 season before slowing down a little near the end and finally losing in the Final Four.

Idaho led most of the way, as you can see from the scoresheet, and only an incredible game by Johni Broome (28 points, 14 rebounds, four blocked shots) kept the game close, as Auburn trailed 58–53 with six minutes (11 possessions) left to play.

However, Broome went inside for two, then Chad Baker-Mazara hit a three-pointer to make it 58–58. Broome then dominated the boards and scored two more buckets, including one off an offensive rebound. He grabbed yet another offensive rebound and kicked it out to Miles Kelly, who nailed a three-pointer (the three-point range increases by one in the Value Add Basketball Game if a teammate grabs an offensive board and passes it out to you) to cap a 12–0 run and make it 65–58.

Idaho fought back to within four points twice in the closing minutes, but when they had to go for the steal or foul while trailing 66–70, they ended up fouling Baker-Mazara. He sank both free throws as a 90% shooter (free throws are good on a 1–18 on the 20-sided die), and Auburn won 74–68, holding the ball on the final possession.

That makes Auburn one of two 2025 teams in our Elite 8 of new teams added to the game. They will play the oldest team in our game, the 1939 dynasty Long Island University team, which has been dominant in the tournament so far. The bracket and box score are below, and the final spot to be filled will face the other 2025 team in the tournament — Duke — with their opponent coming from either Jim Valvano’s amazing national champion NC State team or the exciting Dunk City Florida Gulf Coast squad from 2013.

Pos	1982 Idaho	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl		Actual Season Stats,Ht
1-PG	Kenny Owens	8	0	4	0	0	3	2	0	2		15.6 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 4.2 Ast,6'0
2-SG	Brian Kellerman	18	2	6	0	0	3	3	0	1		12.5 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 4.4 Ast,6'5
3-SG	Phil Hopson	8	0	3	2	4	4	1	0	1		12.9 Pts, 6.6 Reb, 1.3 Ast,6'6
4-PF	Gordie Herbert	14	0	7	0	0	6	1	0	1		12.6 Pts, 6.5 Reb, 3.6 Ast,6'6
5-C	Kelvin Smith	10	0	5	0	0	8	0	2	3		10.3 Pts, 6.6 Reb, 1.0 Ast,6'6
Pos	Bench	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl		Actual Season Stats,Ht
1-PG	Freeman Watkins	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1		3.2 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.3 Ast,6'3
2-SG	Matt Haskins	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1		1.0 Pts, 0.3 Reb, 0.4 Ast,6'4
3-SG	Ben Ross	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1		1.5 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.2 Ast,6'4
4-PF	Antwine Murchison	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1		1.1 Pts, 0.6 Reb, 0.4 Ast,6'7
5-C	Pete Prigge	2	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	1		2.6 Pts, 1.9 Reb, 0.7 Ast,6'8
	14 Turnovers	68	2	30	2	4	30	7	3	13		,
Pos	2025 Auburn	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl		Actual Season Stats,Ht
1-PG	Denver Jones	5	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	1		10.9 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 2.6 Ast,6'4
2-SG	Miles Kelly	8	2	1	0	0	1	2	0	1		NBA-11.3 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 1.1 Ast,6'4
3-SG	Chad Baker-Mazara	14	2	4	0	0	3	1	3	4		12.3 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 2.7 Ast,6'7
4-PF	Chaney Johnson	6	0	1	4	4	6	1	0	1		9.1 Pts, 4.9 Reb, 1.3 Ast,6'7
5-C	Johni Broome	28	0	13	2	2	14	2	4	1		NBA - 18.6 Pts, 10.8 Reb, 2.9 Ast,6'10
Pos	Bench	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl		Actual Season Stats,Ht
1-PG	Tahaad Pettiford	3	0	1	1	2	2	1	0	1		11.6 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 3.0 Ast,6'1
2-SG	JP Pegues	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1		1.4 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.9 Ast,6'1
3-SG	Chris Moore	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1		1.1 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.4 Ast,6'6
4-PF	Ja'Heim Hudson	2	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	1		1.4 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.4 Ast,6'7
5-C	Dylan Cardwell	4	0	2	0	0	3	0	0	1		NBA-5.0 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 1.6 Ast,6'11
	12 Turnovers	74	5	26	7	8	34	8	7	13		4.7 Pts, 4.9 Reb, 1.1 Ast,6'4