When the jersey is untucked, KD Johnson is unleashed and Auburn basketball is a Final Four team

GREENVILLE, S.C. — A referee approached K.D. Johnson with a request.

Tuck in that shirt.

Johnson was cruising early in Auburn basketball's first-round NCAA Tournament game against Jacksonville State on Friday. On the first play of March Madness, coach Bruce Pearl had devised a back-cut play to get Johnson a layup. After an 0-for-14 SEC Tournament outing, scoring Auburn's first points of the NCAA Tournament was a major confidence boost.

Then this happened.

"I don't like my jersey tucked in," Johnson said, laughing. "I feel like it's stuck in my stomach when I shoot. So I took it out, and it made it feel a little looser. ... They get on me a lot about taking it out."

Johnson tucked it late in the first half. Eventually he was untucked once more. By then he was a redemptive wrecking ball, tearing through Jacksonville State and disrupting everything with his defense. Johnson's 10 points and seven assists were vital to Auburn's 80-61 win, almost as much as his team-high plus-22 when on the floor.

After his off day in a 67-62 SEC quarterfinal loss to Texas A&M, this performance was a reassuring return to form for the Auburn fan favorite. The Tigers (28-5) are a Final Four team — at least — when Johnson is unleashed and feeling confident. When he's untucked.

The day before this resounding first-round win, Pearl noted that Johnson is an unpredictable player. Therefore, the 0-for-14 shooting was unpredictable.

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"Dads, have you ever coached your son and after he struck out, he threw his bat and he kind of embarrassed you in front of other people because he kind of cried when he fouled out?" Pearl said. "I had one of those sons in (Auburn assistant coach) Steven Pearl. I’ve got another one of them in K.D. Johnson. You want to know what he’s thinking? Just look at his face. All those expressions."

Indeed, Johnson is a man of many unfiltered emotions. On Friday at the press conference table, he was smiling more than usual.

"I can be crazy and be myself on this team," the Georgia transfer said. "(Pearl) wanted me to be here, and I wanted to be here all along. He lets me just play how I play, and that's how I have fun."

To go far in the NCAA Tournament, guards must excel. Johnson can be a liability — anyone is when they're 0-for-14 — or he can be Auburn's most impactful player on the floor.

He was a pest on the perimeter against Jacksonville State, the fifth-best 3-point shooting team in the country. He was a slick facilitator, unlocking a part of his game that has shown up only in flashes this season. In five losses, Johnson has totaled four assists and 14 turnovers. (Even in the first 27 wins, he averaged 2.22 assists and 2.85 turnovers. A 7-to-1 ratio Friday? Not bad.)

During a first-half sequence, Johnson accelerated from coast to coast then allowed time to slow down for himself, passing to Walker Kessler for the easy dunk. Moments later, he drove left, dribbled behind his back to reveal a passing lane to Jaylin Williams in the corner. Williams knocked down the 3-pointer.

But most importantly, that same old, give-me-the-ball K.D. Johnson showed up. The one who scored 12 overtime points against Mississippi State to help Auburn clinch the SEC championship.

With four minutes left in the first half, Johnson brought up the ball. His trainer says a recent issue has been Johnson's reluctance to simply go into his shot with rhythm. There has been an extra moment spent sizing up a shot or ball-faking. It can mess with the confidence, the flow, the form. He's 3-for-17 from 3-point range in Auburn's losses.

This time, with Auburn only leading 25-24, Johnson dribbled between his legs at the top of the key, dribbled one more time, then went straight into his shot. There was no doubt. 

His jersey was untucked.