Michigan basketball destroys Auburn, 102-72, will play in Players Era Festival final tomorrow

Michigan got off to a great start in a 102-72 win over Auburn, using stifling defense and a good start offensively to run to a 11-2 lead before the first TV timeout. The Wolverines, in fact, held the Tigers without a field goal until the 14:49 mark and led by 11 before the game was even five minutes old, pulling away to clinch a spot in tomorrow’s final (opponent TBD).

Auburn finally started to heat up after its slow start, making a couple triples in a row to pull within six. Within a minute, though, the Wolverines were back up 11, forward Yaxel Lendeborg hitting a transition three to make it 21-10. 

Guard Tahaad Pettiford was most of Auburn’s offense early, scoring seven of his team’s first 10 points, four on free throws when the Wolverines fouled the jump shooter. The Tigers would pick it up offensively, but the Wolverines continued to stay a step ahead with some timely answers. Back-to-back triples from Lendeborg and frosh Trey McKenney made it 34-20 at the 8-minute mark. 

At the 7:16 mark, the Wolverines had as many triples as Auburn had buckets (5) and led 36-20 after a Nimari Burnett finish. 

Another McKenney triple made it 41-24 at the 5-minute mark, and a Lendeborg finish, and-one, pushed the lead to 44-24 at 4:29. The Wolverines were cruising. They’d continue to bring the pressure, holding Auburn to 31 percent shooting from two point range while only notching two — two — turnovers. 

The Wolverines shot 41.2 percent from three-point range (7-for-17) in the half, led by McKenney’s 3-for-5, and made 58.3 percent of their shots overall. They averaged 1.64 points per possession, scored 24 points in the paint, and got 19 points from the bench. 

Morez Johnson Jr. dominated inside, going 6-for-6 from the floor and leading the Wolverines with 15 points in the first half. Lendeborg added 12. 

SECOND HALF — Michigan runs it out for impressive win

Auburn scored the first five points after the break, but the Wolverines answered quickly. Roddy Gayle Jr. hit two triples and Lendeborg another to help push the lead to 30 at 72-42. It was going to take something incredibly improbable to keep Michigan from playing in tomorrow’s championship game. At the 15-minute mark, head coach Dusty May was so confident in his team’s standing that he started experimenting a bit, even playing some 2-3 zone. 

Michigan was content to trade buckets in the second half, and that’s how it went. Twice Auburn cut it to 25, but the Wolverines had an answer each time. Guard L.J. Cason’s triple at 12:28 pushed the lead back to 28 … at that point, the Wolverines were 11-of-23 from three-point range in an incredible showing. 

Cason’s second triple, a “squisher” between the rim and backboard, showed what kind of night it was for the Wolverines offensively. Everything went right. Gayle’s triple made it 85-52 at 9:25, giving Michigan its biggest lead on the way to the 30-point win.

But the fireworks weren’t over. Redshirt freshman forward Oscar Goodman posterized an Auburn forward with a two-hand dunk, bringing the bench alive, and frosh guard Winters Grady‘s triple brought Michigan to the century mark, making it 100-65.

Gayle and Lendeborg led Michigan with 17 points each, Burnett and Johnson adding 15, and Cason added 10 for the 6-0 Wolverines.