ATLANTA — A pair of veteran-heavy teams in No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Michigan State have a common denominator ahead of Sunday’s matchup in the NCAA Tournament South Region final — a pair of red-hot freshmen.
With both the Spartans and Tigers’ seasons hanging in the balance Friday night, Michigan State’s Jase Richardson and Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford helped guide their teams to Sweet 16 victories over Ole Miss and Michigan, respectively.
Now with a ticket to San Antonio on the line, they’ll square off on the biggest stage of their young careers.
Auburn (31-5) trailed the Wolverines by nine with just over 12 minutes remaining on Friday. But Pettiford scored 15 of his 20 points down the stretch, while Johni Broome (22 points, 16 rebounds) and Denver Jones (20 points) added enough firepower to help the Tigers pull away from pesky Michigan.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl — in search of his second Final Four (2019) — hopes to see the winningest season in program history prolonged, with the help of his savvy 19-year-old star.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a player that has been as good as Tahaad that only started one game,” Pearl said. “I just think that Tahaad feels prepared. He’s got a great stroke, and he’s always played against older players.
“That’s one thing his dad did when he was growing up, is he always played him up even though he was small. He’s been playing guys older than him his whole life. So, what’s the difference in the NCAA Tournament?”
Pettiford is averaging 19.7 points in Auburn’s three tournament wins, while Broome has added 14.7 points and 13 rebounds per game.
Tasked with a matchup against Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo, Pearl and the Tigers understand the challenge of facing off against one of the sport’s best.
“They’ve always been as athletic as anybody in the backcourt,” Pearl said of the Spartans. “Michigan State has elite athletes in the backcourt. Like my athletes, they guard. They can score in multiple ways. … I’m obviously challenging my guards and challenging our athletes, but I think from that standpoint it’s an interesting matchup. Michigan won the Big Ten tournament. But Michigan State won the Big Ten. They are the best team in that league.”
Michigan State (30-6) earned a similar win Friday, using a 14-2 second-half run to grab the lead over Ole Miss. Richardson’s 20 points and Coen Carr’s 15 pushed the Spartans over the finish line.
Son of Jason Richardson — a member of Michigan State’s last national championship team in 2000 and a 14-year NBA pro — Jase knows he has a ways to go before being compared to his father’s legacy, but leading the Spartans to a win on Sunday would help.
“We’re two totally different players,” Jase said. “There’s not as much pressure on me to go out there and try to do things that he did because I know I can’t jump 40 feet in the air. For me, just go out there, play with as much fun, play with joy, and just go out and try to win.”
As for stopping Auburn’s three-headed monster, Izzo alluded to throwing big men Szymon Zapala and Xavier Booker back in the rotation on Sunday after not playing either against Ole Miss. Even at full strength, Izzo is aware of the obstacle ahead.
“Broome is an incredible player, but the other two guys (Pettiford and Jones) can make shots, and they can make shots from a lot of different places. To get 62 of their points, these guys are going to be challenged a little bit,” Izzo said.
“We’re not going to stop them, but we’re going to contain them. If we can do that, we can get some rebounds, we can run, and I think that will be a big part of our game.”
