BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tre Donaldson was a star football player in high school, but his favorite time of year was always March. He grew up watching March Madness, dreaming of one day making his mark on the NCAA Tournament.
On Thursday night, that dream come true.
With Auburn clinging to a 45-39 lead, Donaldson stepped into a 3-pointer on the right wing and drained it. It was his first points of the night. After an Iowa miss, the Tigers sprinted back down the court. Allen Flanigan found Donaldson open in the corner, and the freshman buried another one. The crowd erupted, forcing Iowa to call a timeout.
Donaldson was met by his teammates who came out to celebrate with him.
"Those are my guys," he said. "Just to know they're supporting me and they're excited for me, it gave me all the confidence in the world."
"Tre is special," teammate Johnni Broome said. "He's a very underrated freshman. He does a lot for our team. Coming in here and playing the backup point guard, that's a hard job. Especially in this big atmosphere in this big game. But everyone loves when he takes a shot because it's a good percentage to go in."
Donaldson wasn't done yet. Coming out of the timeout, Auburn kept its foot on the gas, and with the shot clock winding down, Donaldson stepped back and made yet another 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead 56-41 with 11 minutes remaining.
AUBURN IS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS 🔥#MarchMadness @AuburnMBB pic.twitter.com/7ddRPGy5ef
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2023
"The step-back was crazy," senior Jaylin Williams said. "He almost made a dude fall. It was great. Tre is a great facilitator and he wants to make others better, but at the end of the day, if you're a killer, you've just got to get to the cup and do your thing. He did that today."
Needing a boost, Auburn found it from an unlikely source in Donaldson. The freshman added a pair of free throws and finished with 11 points in just 13 minutes off the bench. He also grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists without a turnover.
For Donaldson, his 11 points were more than he had scored in the last three games combined. It was only the second time this season he had scored in double figures. But none of that mattered. When his number was called, he was ready. It didn't matter that it was the NCAA Tournament or that Auburn's season was on the line. He was ready.
"I can shoot the ball," he said. "I work my butt off to be able to shoot the ball in big moments like that. I worked extra hard on it this week just knowing we were coming into March Madness. As a freshman, I wanted to be prepared mentally. Mentally, I feel like I'm ahead of all freshmen because I can be in big moments and not get rattled."
"He's got a toughness about him," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "A swag, confidence, absolutely not afraid of the moment. And he did not look or act like a freshman at all."
At the team breakfast Friday morning, Donaldson was asked where that version of him had been all season. "I just needed a bigger stage," he joked.
The stage will only get bigger from here, beginning with a Round of 32 matchup against the No. 1 seed Houston on Saturday. If Auburn can win, it's on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019 when the Tigers made it all the way to the Final Four.
After Thursday's 83-75 win, the team's confidence is riding high.
"It's through the roof," Donaldson said. "This (win) is what we needed. We're back to playing Auburn basketball. It's going to be hard to beat us."