Playing on the road is rarely easy, even for the No. 1 team in the country.

Auburn has had close calls in all three of its SEC road games so far this season but has managed to come out on top each time, most recently doing so without All-American Johni Broome.

AU coach Bruce Pearl did not take anything for granted after Auburn’s 70-68 win over No. 23 Georgia on Saturday afternoon, emphasizing the difficulty of getting the job done in hostile environments.

“Road wins are hard to come by in this league, especially road wins against your arch rival — one of your arch rivals — and a ranked team, like Georgia,” Pearl said. “I thought, getting off to the start that we got off to sent a very strong message, that we did not come here without our best player to try to give you a great fight, you know? We came here to try to win the game.”

The Tigers have all had to step in Broome’s absence and freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford is no exception. The Jersey City, N.J. native led all scorers with 24 points despite coming off the bench. He also recorded three rebounds, two assists and two steals while shooting 7-of-13 from the field and 5-of-7 from 3-point range.

Pettiford credited his head coach for preparing the team to compete on the road and putting them in a position to get the job done.

“I just get mentally prepared for it,” Pettiford said. “BP (Pearl), he'll let us know throughout the week what type of game this is going to be, what type of environment. He'll let us know how he wants us to play. This week, he was telling us he wanted us to come out here and show them what we really can do. That's what we did.”

Coming out on top on the road is a challenge for teams at full strength. Their ability to get the job done away from home without their best player – and one of the nation’s best players – says a lot about the quality of this Tigers squad.

“We're just showing the world that we can still play without him,” Pettiford said. “He's a big part of this team, and we would love to have him back any time he can come back. But it can be anybody's day, anytime. I just love how somebody can just have their day, and the whole team can just build around them.”

Auburn has something that a lot of teams do not when competing on the road, however. Fans of the Tigers have rightfully gained a reputation for being willing to travel anywhere to support their team, even Athens, Ga. This type of support on the road is a luxury that Pearl, Pettiford and the rest of college basketball’s top-ranked team do not take for granted.

“It's amazing,” Pettiford said. “It helps us a lot. It gives us energy off the court. We hear them yelling when we hit a big shot. When we hit a big 3, it's not just silent. That gives us a lot of energy and momentum.”