Tahaad Pettiford has played his best in many of Auburn’s biggest games this season.
That’s why neither his head coach, nor his teammates, are worried about what an off night in Auburn’s Southeastern Conference tournament semifinal loss could do to his confidence.
“I’ll roll with Tahaad all day every day,” Bruce Pearl said following the Tennessee loss, a game in which Pettiford was scoreless and shot 0-for-8 from the field.
For a freshman, Pettiford’s poise and maturity have been arguably the two characteristics that jump out most when talking about him. There’s no better evidence of that than his 20-point performances against Houston, Duke and Kentucky, three of Auburn’s biggest games this season.
Another example was his response to the performance against Tennessee, going on X (formerly Twitter) to reassure fans that the disappointment won’t carry over to the next game.
For Auburn and its fans, what would make up more for the Tennessee loss than a social media post would be another big-time performance. The NCAA tournament is a stage where many players with Pettiford’s confidence and scoring ability become stars.
Getting that level of play from Pettiford could be the X-factor if Auburn makes the tournament run that it expects to make.
When looking at Auburn’s potential matchups in the tournament, there are a few in which Pettiford may be needed to step up more than others. Auburn could potentially face Creighton in the second round, a team with a sturdy, 7-foot-1 center in Ryan Kalkbrenner.
His presence would create a tough matchup for Auburn star forward Johni Broome, the Tigers’ leading scorer and who the offense often runs through. It would be irresponsible to automatically assume Broome would be shut down, but the size disadvantage would make it tough for Broome to dominate on the block like he has in other games.
Pettiford is arguably Auburn’s most dynamic source of offense after Broome, with his ability to create his own shot, play off the ball and make plays for his teammates out of the backcourt.
Against Kentucky, a game in which Broome was held to nine points, Pettiford scored 21 while dishing out four assists, becoming the primary point guard after an injury to Denver Jones.
A matchup with Creighton could call for Pettiford to have a similar impact. Looking past the second round, potential matchups with either Texas A&M or Michigan could pose similar challenges.
In Auburn’s first meeting with Texas A&M, an 11-point loss, Pettiford scored 19 points and knocked down six 3-pointers, while Broome was held to just eight points. The Aggies didn’t have one big stopper in the paint like Creighton, but the overall physicality of their front line gave Auburn problems.
Michigan plays a two-center lineup similar to Auburn, one in which Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin both thrive. Wolf, a transfer from Yale, measures in at seven feet, 250 pounds and ranks 11th in EvanMiya’s defensive bayesian performance ratings.
After two quiet games in the SEC tournament, it would be easy from an outside perspective to be worried about Pettiford going into the March Madness. However, his teammates would disagree.
“I’m the least worried about him in March, because I know he’s gonna handle business,” Jones told reporters Wednesday. “He’s one of the best competitors I know.”
Even Pettiford himself didn’t appear worried at all when talking about his recent struggles from the field. The following week in practice was a chance for Auburn to work on itself, and for Pettiford, he said it was about focus.
The sample size is large enough to believe that Pettiford won’t lose the focus that has allowed him to shine in many big games. And for Auburn to achieve the goals that are expected of the No. 1 overall seed, Pettiford’s big game shot making could be the difference.
Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at prauterkus@al.com
