Sunday Elite Eight takeaways: Broome over everything

theScore runs down the top storylines and developments from Sunday's Elite Eight games and what it all could mean moving forward.

Broome has master's in college hoops

Many students stick around for five years of college to add a master's degree to their undergrad. Johni Broome may be enrolled in liberal arts at Auburn, but we can safely say he obtained a master's in the sport of college basketball. The Tigers star proved again Sunday that he's without peer this season, ripping off a brilliant showing against Michigan State in the Elite Eight that included an improbable comeback from injury.

While a double-double is a significant achievement in a 40-minute college game, Broome has made a habit of upping the difficulty by achieving it in the first half. That was the case versus the Spartans, with Broome piling up 17 points and 11 rebounds in the opening half. That marks the fifth time he's posted a double-double in just 20 minutes.

He had 22 points and 12 rebounds midway through the second when disaster appeared to strike the standout forward and his team. Broome fell awkwardly while defending his basket, with his arm and leg stretching scarily. He headed to the locker room but returned minutes later to the roar of the largely Auburn crowd.

Broome immediately showed he was OK to continue, stepping right into the offense and canning a clutch triple. His eventual stat line of 25 points and 14 rebounds gives him 47 points and 30 boards across the past two games. Broome also became the fourth player in NCAA history to have 2,500 points and 1,500 rebounds in a career.

Michigan State is one of the best perimeter defensive teams in the nation but had no answer for the 6-foot-10, 240-pound Broome. You know you've achieved a certain status level in the sport when Tom Izzo - one of the greatest coaches of all time - tries various things to stop you, and he can't.

With the job done in the region, Bruce Pearl and Auburn's main question this week will be Broome's status for the Final Four. The Tigers could easily win the first national title in program history if he's healthy. If he's not, it's tough to see them hanging with Florida.

Houston puts on defensive master class

Kelvin Sampson has never had a better offensive unit at his disposal during his 11 years with Houston. The Cougars are the nation's top 3-point shooting (39.8%) team and rank 12th on KenPom's rankings for adjusted offensive efficiency. However, their DNA remains in their relentless, hard-nosed defensive approach.

Houston took an already stout defense to another level in the Elite Eight, limiting Tennessee to 29% shooting, including a 5-of-29 clip from deep. The Vols missed their first 14 triples until Zakai Zeigler broke the dry spell with 39 seconds remaining in the first half. Rick Barnes' squad managed just 15 points in the opening half, which is the fewest in an Elite Eight matchup since seeding began in 1979, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Tennessee's 15 points were also the lowest by a top-two seed in the first half in any NCAA Tournament game and the second-fewest in any half, trailing only Kentucky in the 1984 Final Four versus Georgetown (11), per ESPN Stats & Info.

The Cougars did an excellent job taking Vols star Chaz Lanier out of the game. They smothered him on all the off-ball screening actions that Barnes uses to free him up. When Lanier occasionally got open, his jumpers often fell short. You can partially attribute that to the energy Lanier needed to exert to evade Houston's hounding defenders. Lanier missed 10 of his first 11 shots - including all seven long-range attempts - en route to a 4-of-18 shooting performance.

Lanier's struggles had a cascading effect on the rest of his teammates. Milos Uzan's length disrupted Tennessee on the perimeter, while Houston's LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp were solid at the point of attack. There were no easy baskets at the rim either, as the Cougars always met the Volunteers with a defender or two in the paint. Houston frequently stayed vertical on the Vols' point-blank shots and was prepared to break up any lob attempts. It'll take a similar defensive effort to slow Duke's high-octane offense.

Ugly offense cooks Michigan State

"It ain't pretty, but it's effective" is an accurate description of Michigan State's offense this year. Unfortunately for the Spartans, it ceased to be effective Sunday and looked downright ugly. The one thing saving them from having the worst offensive performance of the day was Tennessee scoring just 15 points in its opening half against Houston hours earlier. (Keep reading for more on that debacle.)

Michigan State didn't do much better, though, with only 24 points to show for the game's first 20 minutes. If you look at the Spartans' season stats, it's easy to see Auburn's recipe for cooking them:

• 31% shooting on 3-pointers (318th nationally)
• 19.5 fouls drawn per game (14th nationally)
• 22.5% of points come from free throws (28th nationally)
• 15.7 fast-break points per game (fifth nationally)

The Big Ten program made 3-of-13 triples in the opening half despite having many wide-open looks. The Spartans also shot just six free throws and scored only two fast-break points in that span.

Michigan State is a team built for many things, but coming back from a nine-point halftime deficit against one of the nation's top teams is not one of them. The Spartans' final tally of 64 points is actually quite flattering, as they decreased the deficit late with the game essentially out of hand.

Izzo absolutely maximized this team's potential to reach the Elite Eight. However, much like Tennessee against Houston, the offense simply wasn't versatile enough to keep up in a game that forced the Spartans out of their comfort zone.

Barnes' roster-building flaw

There's no doubt that Barnes has done a solid job since taking over in Knoxville a decade ago. The 70-year-old has guided the program to a pair of Elite Eight appearances, won two SEC regular-season titles, and captured a conference tournament crown. He trails only Ray Mears on the school's all-time wins list.

Barnes' elite defensive system has contributed greatly to his success. Since 1997, his teams have posted 19 top-50 finishes in KenPom's rankings for adjusted defensive efficiency. But perhaps the one thing that's kept Barnes from taking Tennessee one step further is a lack of firepower.

The Vols made last season's Elite Eight behind the high-scoring performances of Dalton Knecht. The future Los Angeles Lakers guard had 37 points in the Midwest Regional final versus Purdue. Still, it wasn't enough, as no other Tennessee player registered double digits in scoring.

Lanier replaced Knecht this season as the program's lead option, and he thrived in a starring role. However, the lack of support around Lanier led to the team's downfall against Houston at the same stage. Sure, Lanier didn't have his finest night at the office. But only two other players made multiple field goals versus the Cougars. That doesn't make things any easier for Lanier when the opposing defense can primarily focus on shutting him down without facing any repercussions. The Vols didn't have a backup plan to lean on when Lanier couldn't get going and needed more offensive weapons if they hoped to get over the hump.