Tahaad Pettiford's Career Night Unveils Recurring Issue for Auburn Tigers

The No. 21 Auburn Tigers bounced back in a major way against No. 14 St. John’s, defeating the Johnnies 85-74 in their third game at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

Auburn leaves the Sin City with a 2-1 record, with its only loss coming to No. 7 Michigan on day two of the tournament, but the Tigers picked up a much-needed victory against one of the top programs in the country on Wednesday.

Sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford led the way throughout the entire week, posting a career-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting against St. John’s along with four rebounds and three steals. He also recorded 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists in Auburn’s 84-73 win over Oregon on Monday.

However, despite Pettiford’s elite breakout week after a relatively slow start to the season, the performance may have revealed, or reinforced, an issue that could haunt the Tigers as they get into the heart of the schedule.

As of right now, Auburn’s offense is extremely top-heavy. Outside of Pettiford and Keyshawn Hall, who is averaging 20.9 points per game, and sometimes senior center KeShawn Murphy, nobody else has exactly emerged as a consistent scoring threat.

There’s a noticeable drop-off on the offensive end after Hall and Pettiford – for example, the UCF transfer and the sophomore phenom were the only two Tigers to reach double-figures against Oregon earlier this week. Additionally, Hall and Pettiford accounted for 47 of Auburn’s 85 versus St. John’s on Wednesday.

If Pettiford is “on” and he’s feeling it, like he was in Auburn’s three games at the Players Era, Auburn can likely beat most teams in the nation. And accompanied by Hall’s ability to consistently score, they have the potential to be one of the more lethal duos in the SEC.

However, if Auburn’s only sources of offense are Pettiford and Hall, opposing teams will eventually figure out a game plan to beat Auburn – simply limit the Tigers’ top-two scorers, and they will struggle to effectively produce points.

Steven Pearl and company need to find a way to get players like Elyjah Freeman, Kevin Overton, Sebastian Williams-Adams, and Filip Jovic more involved in the offense in order to throw more weapons at opposing defenses.

Freeman, who shined in Auburn’s first exhibition game against Oklahoma State, has been somewhat quiet in big games thus far. The D-II Lincoln-Memorial transfer boasts a combined 15 points across three games against ranked opponents – No. 1 Houston, No. 7 Michigan, and No. 14 St. John’s – despite playing north of 30 minutes against the Cougars and St. John’s.

Overton averages just under 10 points per game, but he is extremely streaky and inconsistent. The junior has notched double figures in five games this season, but more reliability from the starting shooting guard would boost Auburn’s backcourt production tremendously and help take some of the load off Pettiford’s shoulders.

The Tigers will have an opportunity to showcase a more balanced offense over the next few weeks, as their nonconference slate doesn’t get any easier. Auburn faces No. 23 NC State next Wednesday before a road trip to No. 2 Arizona for a clash with the Wildcats and a battle with No. 1 Purdue in Indianapolis later in December.

The road won’t be easy, but a tough stretch of games to prepare the Tigers for another brutal year in the SEC will only benefit them moving forward.