Auburn freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford drove down the middle of the defense, hit a floater and waved goodbye to nobody in particular at Rupp Arena on Saturday night. In the moment, it was a salutation that suggested the top-seeded Tigers were about to knock 9-seed Creighton out of the NCAA men's tournament,

Pettiford scored 23 points as Auburn basketball beat Creighton in second round of March Madness bracket. The Tigers face Michigan next in the Sweet 16

Tahaad Pettiford scored 16 of his 23 points after halftime and Chad Baker-Mazara added 17 points for Auburn, which held Creighton scoreless for more than six minutes during a 10-0 second-half run. Pettiford scored six points during that burst to push the Tigers to a 68-54 lead.