‘He gives the spark’: Tahaad Pettiford’s 20 points help lead Auburn to Elite Eight

The first half of Auburn’s Sweet 16 game against Michigan was one to forget for Tahaad Pettiford.

He was 2-for-6 from the field 0-for-3 from long range and had three turnovers compared to zero assists. It was part of a first half — and start to the second half — that just about all of Auburn’s players would like to forget.

It came to a head with Michigan taking a nine-point lead with 12:26 remaining as the optimism brought by the pro-Auburn State Farm Arena crowd was dwindling fast.

But before all hope could be lost, Pettiford stepped up and knocked down a big 3-pointer, the latest in a freshman season full of him stepping up in big moments.

That shot started a 20-2 run that flipped the game and fueled a second-half surge that gave Auburn a 78-65 win, advancing the Tigers to the Elite Eight.

“Definitely,” Pettiford said when asked postgame if his 3-pointer to start the run felt big. “I felt the momentum shift our way and seeing the guys bring more energy that we didn’t have earlier in the game, and felt like that, that’s what started it.”

Star forward Johni Broome even said after the game that the shot came on a broken play, one where Broome admitted to messing the play up.

“I didn’t know who was coming, but that just shows his shot making ability, and to be able to just be a dog at times and make plays,” Broome said.

Fifteen of Pettiford’s 20 points came in the second half, and he added three assists with no turnovers, a stark contrast from the first 20 minutes.

It was Pettiford’s sixth 20-point game of the season and all six have come away from home either against ranked teams or in the postseason.

“He does whatever it takes to win. We need a spark, he gives the spark,” Broome said. “There’s not too many freshmen who can take over a game like he can. You saw in today’s game he had a spurt where he just took over the game.”

Broome also mentioned Pettiford’s respect for the upperclassmen on the team, talking about how Pettiford listens to and learns from the older players on the team.

Pearl brought up that fact as well, crediting Broome for how he’s been able to use his experience to give Pettiford guidance.

“These guys are best friends. This is a senior in his fifth year. He’s got a lot of other stuff going on,” Pearl said. “But when it comes to just messing around, having fun, he’s just sort of loving on that little s***. That’s all he’s done. He is a little s***, you know, and he’s loved on him.”

Pettiford is now averaging 19.6 points per game through Auburn’s three NCAA tournament games, while shooting 51% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point range.

It sets up another opportunity for the five-star freshman from New Jersey to shine on a big stage. The next one will be a game against two-seed Michigan State with a Final Four berth on the line.

But if Pettiford’s other big-game performances are any indication, no stage seems to be too big.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at prauterkus@al.com