AUBURN | On the biggest stage, Tahaad Pettiford has been at his best.

No. 2 Auburn’s dynamic freshman is averaging 14.0 points, 3.0 assists and 2.1 rebounds against five ranked opponents along with Memphis in the finals of the Maui Invitational and Ohio State in Atlanta.

In those seven games, which includes wins over No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 16 Purdue, and a close loss at No. 9 Duke, Pettiford is shooting 48.6 percent from the floor and 51.4 percent from 3-point range.

In the Tigers other five games, which have been won by an average of 38.4 points, Pettiford is averaging 7.6 points, 2.8 assists, 0.9 rebounds, and shooting 38.2 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from 3-point range.

“He’s not afraid of the moment. He’s got confidence,” said AU coach Bruce Pearl. “I think what happens when you play the best teams on your schedule, every player is challenged a little bit more. Your best players, your most talented players, those are the guys that have a chance to be successful that particular night.

“When you’re not playing one of your better opponents everybody has a chance to be successful because you’re better at every position or more positions. When you play the best teams, the best players have to step up. It shows you how effective, how quick, how composed he is.”

Pettiford, who began the season splitting tie between point guard and win, is now playing exclusively at point along with senior Denver Jones.

His top performances this season include 21 points on 5 of 8 3-pointers against Houston, 20 points on 4 of 8 3-pointers at Duke and 18 points on 7 of 12 field goals against Purdue.

“He's special. He's talented,” said senior center Johni Broome. “He has that edge, that dog to him. I know when the lights are bright he's going to shine as well because that's just how he is and who he is as a person.”

Auburn, 11-1, closes out non-conference play Monday night against Monmouth. Tip-off at Neville Arena is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT on SECN+/ESPN+.