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Rise and Shine: Smooth Landing

By Jonathan Lidskin

Every so often in college basketball, you get bizarre things that will happen that you simply don’t see in other sports. We got one of those things this weekend.

After an altercation between two players, Auburn’s plane had to re-route and it ended up being that Jahki Howard and Ja’Heim Hudson did not travel to Houston with the team.

While neither is a major contributor for the Tigers, it didn’t stop this from being an atypical road trip for Bruce Pearl’s team. However, with their backs against the wall both from off-court and on-court circumstances, a star was born. That star was Freshman Tahaad Pettiford of course.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I was not as high on Pettiford as recruiting services and while I am not going to launch into a full explanation why, I’m happy to admit my fault. Pettiford finished the game on Saturday night with 21 points, including five threes. The New Jersey native took over the game at times, showing that microwave-scoring ability that popped up on film at times.

Pettiford was moving well within the offense, but what was most impressive was that he was able to so effectively create shots on his own against one of the nation’s top defenses.

Johni Broome was also a major factor in the comeback as Auburn went to him a ton in pick and roll to beat the Houston blitz defense.

Auburn moved up to #1 in KenPom’s rankings following the win, leapfrogging the Cougars. There’s certainly no reason to panic for Kelvin Sampson’s team as both teams looked like forces last night and top teams in the sport.


Other Saturday Storylines:

  1. Baylor took down Arkansas 72-67 in Dallas. Norchad Omier had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Bears.

  2. Tennessee smashed Louisville on the road 77-55 behind 19 points apiece from Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier.

  3. San Francisco fought off a Boise State comeback attempt late. All five of the Dons starters scored in double figures.

  4. Dayton used a big second half to get revenge against Northwestern despite 32 points and 14 rebounds from Nick Martinelli.

  5. The upset of the day went to Fordham as Jackie Johnson buried a buzzer-beater to knock off Seton Hall.


Sunday’s Games to Watch:

  • Michigan vs. Wake Forest, 1:00 p.m. EST, ESPN2

  • UC Irvine @ Northern Iowa, 2:00 p.m. EST, ESPN+

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