Denver Jones only played eight minutes in No. 1 Auburn’s win over No. 17 Kentucky, leaving the game after sustaining a leg injury. This left true freshman Tahaad Pettiford to carry the load for the Tigers at point guard.

Pettiford stepped up to the challenge, recording 21 points, two rebounds and four assists while shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. He was on the floor for 33 minutes, co-leading the team in that category with Johni Broome.

“Knowing Deuce (Jones) was going down, I was just having to step up as a freshman,” Pettiford said. “I was prepared. Coach puts us in situations like this, so when the time presented itself, I was ready.”

Despite the season he has put together, Pettiford has not cracked the starting lineup yet. This is something he has handled the way any good teammate should.

“Tahaad Pettiford has not started a game and has not said one word to any of his coaches,” AU coach Bruce Pearl said. “His family has not said a single word because he was raised right. And look guys, there are still great stories about kids who want to be coached. They want to be held accountable.”

In Jones’ absence, Pettiford needed to be a dependable option for the Tigers on offense. He took advantage of the things Kentucky threw at him defensively to get the job done.

“They played a lot of drop, so just coming off screens and leaning with what the defender was doing, seeing the gaps I can attack and taking advantage of it,” Pettiford said.

On a team with a significant veteran presence, Pettiford has had no trouble breaking through as a freshman.

“Tahaad’s been great. He’s got great courage,” Pearl said. “As a freshman, the seniors have done a great job of kind of embracing him. To play the entire game with having (Lamont) Butler guarding him at times and not have a turnover is incredible.”

Pearl confirmed that Jones’ injuries are not significant and he will be able to recover quickly.

“Good news, it was X-rayed, bone bruise, so he's going to recover from it,” Pearl said. “But he's a tough kid. I was worried he had a bone break or something.”