Auburn’s opening game of the 2026–27 college basketball season produced one of the most memorable highlights of the opening week. Tahaad Pettiford launched a shot from beyond half court just before halftime Wednesday night, banking it through the basket and sending Neville Arena into celebration. The remarkable shot immediately became the defining moment of Auburn’s 92–59 victory over Southeastern Louisiana, but the sequence leading up to it revealed something potentially more important.
Pettiford scored Auburn’s final 11 points of the opening half, turning a competitive contest into a much more comfortable situation. The sophomore guard finished with 18 points and four assists without committing a turnover in 22 minutes, providing an encouraging performance for a Tigers team hoping to remain competitive in the SEC.
What made the performance particularly impressive was how it began. Pettiford missed his first eight field-goal attempts before suddenly taking control during the final 73 seconds of the opening half. Rather than allowing a difficult shooting start to dictate the rest of his performance, he continued attacking and eventually changed the entire game.
Tahaad Pettiford banks it in at the Buzzer from Half Court!! pic.twitter.com/to5skWfiHX
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) November 5, 2026
Eleven consecutive points completely changed the game
Auburn held a six-point advantage late in the first half when Pettiford began his remarkable scoring burst. He attacked the basket for a layup, converted two three-point plays and then delivered the extraordinary shot from approximately 50 feet as time expired…