Bruce Pearl jokes that Tahaad Pettiford is 'a little sh*t'

Tahaad Pettiford is continuing to make a name for himself throughout the NCAA Tournament. Bruce Pearl couldn’t be happier with the way the Auburn star played against Michigan on Friday evening.

The Jersey City native scored 20 points in 29 minutes during the Tigers’ win over the Wolverines in the Sweet 16. Additionally, the Auburn freshman added three assists, a steal and a block to the stat-sheet. That led to Pearl reminiscing a bit about what he saw in Pettiford when he recruited him, and what he means to the Tigers now.

“First of all, I want to give his father Travis and Ira Bowman, my assistant coach, credit. Those guys are family friends. The biggest thing with Tahaad was we loved him when he was young,” Pearl told the media, following the win. “People were interested, they were wondering, ‘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 Ira. He’s learned to trust me. He didn’t know me very well.

“I want to give Johni [Broome] 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 shit. That’s all he’s done.

“He is a little shit, you know. And he’s loved on him. You know what, so Tahaad — he cares about Dylan [Cardwell]. He cares about the seniors on this team. He really wants to deliver for them.”

That’s about as heartwarming as it gets for a coach and player at the college level. It’s evident Pearl and the veterans on Auburn have a ton of love for Pettiford. He’s been essential to their operation, and they wouldn’t be in the spot they are at the moment without the freshman’s contributions.

Moving forward, the stage is set for Pettiford and the Tigers to square off against No. 2 seed Michigan State on Sunday. They’ll battle for a chance to advance to the Final Four, one of the most coveted spots in all of college basketball.

At the moment, Auburn is a 5.5-point favorite against Michigan State, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Additionally, the Tigers boast -230 odds on the money line. Michigan State has +188 odds on the money line.

Time will tell if Bruce Pearl, Tahaad Pettiford and the rest of Auburn can get the job done in the Elite Eight. They’re on an awesome, memorable run at the moment, and they don’t want it to end — winning is the only way to keep their dreams alive. We’ll see if they can keep it up.