Tahaad Pettiford – Syndication Server

Auburn basketball has ‘firm grasp’ on college basketball after win over Tennessee

Auburn proved why it is the nation’s best team on Saturday by taking down Tennessee in a slug fest.

Auburn basketball proved last Saturday that any win is a good win.

The No. 1 Tigers defeated No. 7 Tennessee, 53-51, on Saturday at Neville Arena despite shooting 31% from the field. Two of its offensive weapons, [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag], were shut out from the field, and freshman [autotag]Tahaad Pettiford[/autotag] shot 33% on the night.

Despite its struggles, Auburn made the right plays down the stretch. The Tigers went on a 6-0 run to close the game and forced Tennessee to miss six of its final seven shots to close the game.

Jordan Mendoza of USA TODAY Sports says that Auburn’s win over the Volunteers proved that the Tigers have a “firm grasp on top of the sport” as the calendar flips to February in the weekly winners and losers feature.

Does Saturday’s game determine who will win the SEC or become national champion? No, but what the contest did prove is Auburn is indeed the best team in the country. It’s been three weeks into the conference slate, and every team tasted defeat in the talent-heavy league − except Auburn. A perfect 6-0 start in the SEC likely couldn’t be done by any other team in the country, nor could a 11-1 record in Quad 1 games.

It helped matters that forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] returned to action on Saturday. Broome played 33 minutes off the bench in the win, where he scored 16 points and secured 13 rebounds. Broome and the Tigers will look to continue its run of dominance this week with road games at LSU on Wednesday and Ole Miss on Saturday.

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Tigers volunteer chaos to ‘The Jungle’, win rock fight over Rocky Top, 53-51

The Tigers now have a program-best 8 ranked victories on the year to go along with a college basketball-best 11 ‘Quad 1’ wins.

If anyone was looking for the since trampled barricades that were supposedly meant to control a mob of ‘College GameDay’ ready fans on Saturday morning, they may had been placed above the Neville Arena rims.

In an era in which scoring has never been more prevalent in college basketball, or basketball in general, the first half of Auburn’s top ten showdown with No. 6 Tennessee featured just 42 total points. [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag], who came into the contest shooting 29% from 3-point range before a week-long absence, managed the only make from beyond the arc by either team in the first 20 minutes.

Along with the triple, Broome contributed a team-leading 9 points in the first frame. No other Tiger had more than 5 points, with [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag], [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag], and [autotag]Chaney Johnson[/autotag] providing the only other baskets of the half for Auburn. Tennessee’s production wasn’t any better, as the Volunteers shot an atrocious 23% from the field before hitting the half time locker room.

Auburn’s “rock fight” with ‘Rocky Top’ continued into the first few minutes of the second half, with both teams infrequently trading buckets until the score knotted up at 33 entering the under 12 media timeout. The seesaw nature of Saturday’s showdown continued through the remainder of the half, albeit with increased offensive efficiency, mainly due to the contributions of both backcourts.

Tennessee senior [autotag]Zakai Zeigler[/autotag] was the star down the stretch for Rick Barnes’s squad, finishing with a team-high 14 points, which may have been much more if the referees refilled their contact prescription. Chad Baker-Mazara, [autotag]Tahaad Pettiford[/autotag], Chaney Johnson and [autotag]Miles Kelly[/autotag] all contributed important points down the stretch on the Auburn side, although most of the heavy lifting was done by Johni Broome, who finished with a game-high 16 points and 13 rebounds.

It was Broome, and Miles Kelly, who would outduel Zeigler in the end though. After Tennessee grabbed a late two-possesion lead with just over a minute remaining, Auburn was able to storm back thanks to a nifty floater by freshman Tahaad Pettiford followed by an incredibly timely go-ahead, corner 3-point shot by Kelly. The Georgia Tech transfer, who’s eventual game-winning shot was only his second field goal of the night, sent ‘The Jungle’ into an absolute frenzy with 30 seconds remaining.

Tennessee would go on to have an empty possession, leading to an Auburn rebound and a 1/2 trip at the free throw stripe from Pettiford. Zeigler would then be given a chance to win the game, missing a corner three long before Johni Broome heaved his thirteenth rebound of the night down the floor to milk the remaining seconds on the game clock.

Auburn’s victory was possibly it’s hardest fought, and most well-earned, of the season to this point. The Tigers now have a program-best 8 ranked victories on the year to go along with a college basketball-best 11 ‘Quad 1’ wins. Bruce Pearl’s team is all-but certain to hang onto its No. 1 AP and Coaches Poll ranking going into Wednesday’s road contest with LSU.

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Freshman guard fully embracing role with Auburn

Pettiford is third among Tigers in scoring despite playing the sixth most minutes on the team.

For the first few months of his introductory season of college basketball, Auburn freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford was operating as the unsung hero of the No. 1 ranked program in the country. Over the past few games in which Auburn has missed star Johni Broome, the New Jersey native has sprouted from the garden of Auburn’s abundant depth into something more.

Pettiford has dropped the prefix from his early-season role, scoring 15, 12, and 24 points in the three contests the aforementioned Broome either did not participate in or was barely on the court. The 24 points, which were a career-best for the freshman, helped Auburn achieve a hard-fought road victory against Georgia just one short week ago.

The 19-year-old’s scoring pace now has him sitting in third among all Tigers in points per game, despite receiving less minutes than five other Auburn players. Dylan Cardwell, who has started every game for Bruce Pearl’s Tigers this season, and senior Chris Moore are the only Tigers to have appeared in every game this season and receive less minutes than Pettiford.

Although the freshman hasn’t seen the minutes most stars across the country do, Auburn’s youngest contributor has not complained, instead embracing the bench role. Speaking with Jordan Richard on his podcast, Pettiford responded to a question insulating he was being “slept on” my the national media.

Speaking highly of his teammates, Pettiford explained, “I feel like I get slept on just because of the situation I’m in. I play with a National Player of the Year candidate, Johni Broome [and] we’re winning… nobody really cares about the player things because we’re doing everything he need to win as a team.” He continued, “That’s why I came [to Auburn]. Coach [Pearl] told me he had a plan to win this year… I am a winning guy and I’d love to win a National Championship, coming off the bench, starting, scoring 20, scoring 10, if I’m winning that’s all that matters.”

The words ring strong from a freshman with as much talent as Pettiford in the age of NIL and the immediate transfer portal. It’s clear the young shot maker has one priority, and that is cutting down the nets with his Auburn teammates come March.

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Tahaad Pettiford named SEC Freshman of the Week

Pettiford played a major role in Auburn winning two games over top-25 foes last week.

Auburn basketball earned two wins over ranked SEC foes last week, and freshman [autotag]Tahaad Pettiford[/autotag] was an important reason.

The freshman guard averaged 18 points in the wins over No. 18 Mississippi State and No. 23 Georgia last week, with six steals, five assists, and three rebounds. His efforts landed him his first conference award of his young career. Pettiford was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week by the league office on Monday.

Pettiford scored 12 points in Auburn’s midweek win over Mississippi State at Neville Arena, but the rest of his stat line showed that he also played the role of a great teammate. He logged four steals and three assists while being called for two fouls.

He followed Tuesday’s performance by scoring 24 points in Auburn’s narrow win over Georgia in Athens. He reached the feat by shooting 54% from the field (7-of-13) and by going 5-of-7 from three-point territory. He also hauled in three rebounds in the victory.

Last week’s efforts extends Pettiford’s double-digit scoring streak to five games. He has reached double-figures in points 11 times this season, with his best outing coming in Auburn’s 74-69 win over Houston in November. Pettiford enters the week with a 12.0 points per game average, and shoots 45.4% field goal percentage.

Tahaad Pettiford, Ja’heim Hudson play key bench roles in Auburn’s win at Georgia

Head coach Bruce Pearl discusses the importance of Pettiford and Hudson in Auburn’s narrow win at Georgia on Saturday.

The No. 1 Auburn Tigers pulled off another quad-1 win on the road Saturday by narrowly escaping No. 23 Georgia in Stegeman Coliseum, 70-68.

Auburn was without star forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] for the second straight game, which caused the need for several bench players to step up and take the pressure of added production head-on. Auburn got just that in [autotag]Tahaad Pettiford[/autotag] and [autotag]Ja’heim Hudson[/autotag].

Pettiford led all scorers with 24 points in Auburn’s win. He achieved the feat primarily through his success beyond-the-arc, where he connected on 5-of-7 three-point opportunities.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] made sure to give Pettiford praise following the game.

“We didn’t play our best. We had two or three guys that had subpar nights. But I’ll give Georgia credit for that,” Pearl said. “And Tahaad Pettiford is pretty special.”

Hudson followed Pettiford by scoring five points and securing three offensive rebounds and two steals. Although Hudson played just 18 minutes, Pearl says that the affect he had on the floor could be felt all-around.

“We don’t win the game without Turtle (Hudson),” Pearl said. “We don’t.”

The duo of Pettiford and Howard combined to score 29 of Auburn’s 32 bench points in the win, which added value to the team’s performance considering starters [autotag]Chaney Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag] combined to score four points while shooting 2-of-11 from the field Johnson and Cardwell played a great game defensively by combining to secure 13 rebounds and blocking five shots.

The timetable for Broome’s return is unknown, but Auburn will continue to find success in his absence due to the efforts of Pettiford and Hudson.

Tigers withstand Bulldog’s bite, earn fifth SEC victory 70-68

The Tigers escaped Athens with a narrow victory on Saturday

[autotag]Tahaad Pettiford[/autotag] is making a very strong case for SEC Newcomer of the Year. The freshman contributed a career-high 24 points in Auburn’s fifth-straight conference victory. The Tigers, who only escaped Athens with a two-point win, needed every single one of them.

Despite never trailing since the game was 2-0 in favor the Georgia, Auburn was never comfortable in front of a hostile Georgia crowed on Saturday afternoon. Other than Pettiford and some timely buckets from fellow guards [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazar[/autotag]a (13 points) and [autotag]Miles Kelly[/autotag] (13 points), Auburn’s top ranked KenPom offense was not itself against a Bulldogs team that plays with one of the slowest paces in the entire country.

Even after jumping out to an early 24-8 lead in the first half, Bruce Pearl’s team needed a missed tip in by Georgia forward Asa Newell as the clock expired to put another tally in the win column. Auburn was outscored 60-46 after climbing out to the early 16-point lead mid-way through the first frame.

While Bruce Pearl’s team barely escaped a court storm in Athens, the Tigers again showed resiliency on the road without the contributions of National Player of the Year co-favorite [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag]. Broome’s absense was especially felt on Saturday with [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag] dealing with cramps against the strong front court of UGA featuring the aforementioned star freshman Asa Newell (16 points, 10 rebounds).

With a week to rest before their biggest home game of the season against No. 6 ranked Tennessee on Saturday, Broome, Cardwell, and the rest of a tired Auburn roster will look to hang onto their No. 1 ranking a week from today.

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In photos: No. 2 Auburn squeaks by South Carolina to earn third SEC win

Auburn held South Carolina scoreless for the final 5:18 to earn the 66-63 win on Saturday in Columbia.

It was not easy, but Auburn found a way to earn another key win within SEC play.

South Carolina was held scoreless over the final 5:18 of game time in its game with No. 2 Auburn on Saturday, which allowed the visiting Tigers to erase a then-one-point deficit and escape with a 66-63 win over the Gamecocks on Saturday at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.

South Carolina owned the rebound category, 37-33, and outscored Auburn, 42-30 in the paint. Collin Murray-Boyles led South Carolina in points with 25 while Arden Conyers connected on 3-of-6 three-point opportunities.

Auburn played most of the game without forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag], who left the game with an ankle injury. In his absence, [autotag]Miles Kelly[/autotag] scored 14 points with six rebounds while [autotag]Tahaad Pettiford[/autotag] dropped 15 points in the win.

Re-live Auburn’s tight win over South Carolina by checking out the best images from the game.

In photos: Auburn crushes Missouri to open SEC play

Auburn is 1-0 in SEC after an 18-point blowout of Missouri at Neville Arena.

The No. 2 Auburn Tigers were tasked with cooling off a red-hot Missouri squad on Saturday to begin the new year with a win. The home-standing Tigers passed the test with ease, taking down Missouri, 84-68, at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama.

Missouri held the edge in rebounding and received more production from their bench than Auburn. However, Auburn was more precise at shooting the basketball, which led to the win.

Auburn connected on 57% of its field goal attempts (28-of-49) and shot 48% from three-point territory (10-of-21) to aid in its 18-point victory.

[autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] led the team in points with 24, and tied [autotag]Chaney Johnson[/autotag] for the team lead in rebounds with seven. Johnson also tied [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag] by scoring 13 points during the game. [autotag]Tahaad Pettiford[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag] also logged 10 points to give Auburn five double-digit scoring players in the win.

Re-live some of the special moments from Auburn’s most recent victory by checking out the best photos from Auburn’s victory over Missouri.

New year, same Tigers: Auburn roars past Missouri 84-68

Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers opened up SEC play with a statement victory on Saturday

After a spectacular non-conference portion of the season, Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers have opened up SEC play with a statement victory.

Auburn defeated Missouri 84-68 in front of a packed Neville Arena on Saturday to earn its thirteenth win of the season. The blowout victory in ‘The Jungle’ was also Auburn’s second against Tiger counterparts. Johni Broome and company previously defeated Memphis in the ‘Maui Invitational’ championship earlier this season.

Broome, who continues to pace the field in the ‘Wooden Award’ race, had himself another fantastic performance in the SEC opener. The senior was the only player to reach double figures in the first half, finishing the frame with 13 points before ending the contest with a game-high 24 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Saturday marked the ninth time this season Auburn’s leading scorer had eclipsed the 20 point threshold this season. The total now gives Broome more 20+ point games than he had during the entirety of his All-SEC campaign a year ago.

Auburn, like it normally has so far this season, received most of its remaining offensive production from the backcourt trio of [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag], [autotag]Tahaad Pettiford[/autotag], and [autotag]Miles Kelly[/autotag]. The grouping of gifted guards combined for 29 to help the Tigers pull away in the contest. [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag] also added 9 points and a game-high 7 assists, doing most of his work in the second half.

While Auburn’s scoring continues to be historically outstanding, the defense was once again phenomenal on Saturday night. Led by [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag]’s 3 first half rejections, Auburn held Missouri to a season low 11 field goals in the first half. The away team’s offensive output only got worse in the second frame, as senior Tamar Bates 8 and his team shot just 38% from the field on their way to 68 points.

Auburn now heads into its first conference road matchup of the season with even more momentum than it had to finish 2024. While Texas is certain to give the Tigers a solidly competitive game on Tuesday, Bruce Pearl’s team has shown it will be extremely difficult to beat this season.

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Photos: Auburn derails Purdue behind Broome double-double

What shoulder injury? Senior forward Johni Broome scores 23 and rebounds 11 in Auburn’s 87-69 win over Purdue in Birmingham.

What shoulder injury?

After exiting Auburn’s win over Georgia State on Tuesday, [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] was in the starting lineup for the Tigers game vs. No. 17 Purdue, where he delivered one of his best performances in his three-year Auburn career.

The senior forward notched his eighth double-double of the season by scoring 23 points and hauling in 11 rebounds in No. 2 Auburn’s 87-69 win over the Boilermakers at Legacy Arena in Birmingham on Saturday.

Broome played a major role in the win, but [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s squad also received solid production from [autotag]Tahaad Pettiford[/autotag] (18 points, five assists) and [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag] (15 points, 4 assists).

Re-live Auburn’s impressive win over Purdue by checking out this photo gallery from Saturday’s game in Birmngham.