Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers entered March Madness as the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and are now just two wins away from reaching the sport’s pinnacle.
The majority of the Tigers’ roster is composed of upperclassmen obtained through the transfer portal, as is the case for many schools in the era of NIL. The starting five for Auburn averages 23.2 years of age, and while the elder statesmen get much of the attention, it’s freshman Tahaad Pettiford who has elevated his game in the tournament.
During the regular season, Pettiford averaged 22.1 minutes and 11 points off the bench. In four NCAA tournament games, those numbers have increased to 29 minutes and 17.2 points per game. The freshman sensation has been instrumental in Auburn’s postseason success, including his role in the Tigers’ come-from-behind win in the Sweet 16 over Michigan where he finished with 20 points — 15 coming in the second half.
Michael DeCourcy, college basketball insider for The Sporting News, joined Sportsnaut’s Evan Groat for an exclusive interview and believes that Pettiford is the key for Auburn in the Final Four.
“I think the way I describe it is that, Johni Broome is the man for Auburn,” said DeCourcy of Auburn’s big man. “He drives the bus. But the guy who’s driving the sports car that ends up winning the race for Auburn is Tahaad Pettiford. If there’s no Tahaad Pettiford, this team is a very good team with a great player. But Pettiford changes them.”
That’s high praise for Pettiford, whose teammate Broome is the SEC Player of the Year. It’s evident that Pearl’s trust in his freshman guard has grown during the tournament, as shown by the significant uptick in minutes played.
“So Bruce knows that Pettiford has to matter for them to be great. And so that’s an interesting element of it as well,” DeCourcy added.
Pettiford’s clutch play will need to continue if Auburn is to advance to Monday night’s national championship game against the winner of Duke versus Houston. First things first — standing in the Tigers’ way is SEC rival Florida, who defeated Auburn on Feb. 8, 90-81.
One thing is certain: don’t expect Pettiford to shy away from the bright lights in San Antonio. If we’ve learned anything in the last four games, it’s that the larger the stakes, the better he plays — and the stage doesn’t get any bigger than the Final Four.
**Watch the exclusive interview above**