AUBURN, Ala. – An unlikely rim protector at 6-foot-1, Tahaad Pettiford leads Auburn with 11 blocked shots.
“Trying to help my team any way I can,” Pettiford said. “If that’s a block or a steal, if I have to put my body on the line and take a charge, whatever I need to do. I kind of enjoy chasing blocks down.”
While Pettiford’s shot blocking is a plus, his shot making is a must.
The left-hander has made 10 field goals twice in the Tigers’ past three games while shooting 46.1 percent from 3-point range in Auburn’s last four games, scoring a career-high 30 points last week at No. 2 Arizona.
“It was pretty good but it really didn’t matter; we lost so I’ll just try to do it the next game to help the team win,” said Pettiford, Auburn’s second-leading scorer averaging 15.7 points per game.
After a week off for final exams, No. 21 Auburn returns to action Saturday in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Hawks.
“I love it,” Pettiford said. “The NBA is my dream. Being able to play there anytime I can and show what I can do.”
In Auburn’s annual Holiday Hoopsgiving appearance, the Tigers take on Chattanooga, a team that relies heavily on 3-pointers, having made 21 of 49 attempts in its most recent game while launching 50 in its season opener.
“They have six guys who are making a 3 a game and multiple guys making two or three a game,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “Shooting 35 percent from 3, they do a great job assisting the ball. It’s going to be a handful.
“Excited for the opportunity to get back to Atlanta. It’s always been a fun venue for our guys to play in and it’s always been well attended by our fans. I hope to keep that going.”
With only three games remaining before the start of Southeastern Conference play, No. 21 Auburn (7-3) takes on the Mocs (5-5) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network. Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will call the action for Auburn Sports Network listeners.
“We really battled tested our guys in the first part of the season getting ready for conference and postseason play,” Pearl said. “We’ve got to get healthy, we’ve got to get rested and we’ve got to play with unbelievable effort and energy these next three so we can continue to grow in the areas we need to grow to play another gauntlet of an SEC schedule.”
This is Auburn’s sixth-straight appearance in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event and the Tigers are 4-1 in those contests.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer
