– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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ATLANTA — There probably isn’t a bigger dichotomy between two lifestyles and landscapes in the United States than the one that exists between the hustle-and-bustle of the New York City area and the plains of eastern Alabama. Yet the marriage of a charismatic, New Jersey-born-and-raised freshman point guard and the orange-and-blue pom-pom-waving fans who support Auburn University has been a match made in heaven, and Tahaad Pettiford put on his best performance of a special season for the Tigers as they were on the verge of seeing their No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed into a disappointing Sweet 16 exit.
But the young man who hails from Jersey City and wears zero was the hero on Friday night in the Deep South, as Pettiford scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half as Auburn roared back from a nine-point deficit to defeat No. 5 seed Michigan 78-65 inside State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The freshman’s performance was matched, if not surpassed, by the presumptive national player of the year, fifth-year- senior Johni Broome, who had 22 points and 16 rebounds.
The Tigers, who now have reached their third Elite Eight in program history, will take on another Big Ten team, the second-seeded Michigan State Spartans, in the early evening on Sunday to punch the final ticket to San Antonio and the Final Four.
Though listed as a reserve, Pettiford has been a major player in Auburn’s deep guard rotation that’s been the scourge of the SEC, though the Wolverines had things under control early in the second half when it opened up its largest lead of nine, 48-39, with just 12:26 remaining. Broome kept the Tigers in the game in the first half despite the Tigers turning the ball over 10 times in the frame, and it was Pettiford who brought them home, starting with a three-pointer after the Wolverines opened up that largest lead. That long-range hit was the start of a 12-0 run that gave Auburn the lead that it would not relinquish for the rest of the game, with Pettiford’s step-back jumper putting the Tigers in front 49-48.
The shots were falling, the gestures to the crowd after each hit were getting more pronounced, and his skipping on the court exuded a New York flair that imbued the Tigers and lifted them to the form that saw it be the runaway No. 1 team in America for most of the season.
The fact that it was Broome’s dominance inside and Pettiford’s brilliance outside that willed the Tigers home was prophetic, as the two have forged a best-friend relationship despite their only year together on the Plains.
“The biggest thing with Tahaad was we loved him when he was young,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “People were interested, they were wondering — no, I want you to be on my team or be our scorer or whatever. I think Tahaad, he remembered that when he was younger. We didn’t waiver from it. He trusted [assistant coach Ira Bowman], and he’s learned to trust me. He didn’t know me very well.
“I want to give Johni credit in this regard. These guys are best friends. This is a senior in his fifth year. He’s got a lot of other stuff going on. But when it comes to just messing around, having fun, he’s just sort of loving on that little sh*t. That’s all he’s done. He is a little sh*t, you know, and he’s loved on him.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Friday’s South Regional second semifinal, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Dale Horton. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 28 pictures in total.
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