Michigan is a legitimate National Championship contender.
After blowing past San Diego State 24 hours ago, 94-54, the No. 7 Wolverines just avenged their Sweet-16 loss from seven months ago, taking down
No. 21 Auburn, 102-72, in their second matchup of the Players Era Tournament in Las Vegas.
Michigan cruised to an easy 30-point victory behind Yaxel Lendeborg and Roddy Gayle Jr.’s 17 points, and now it will play for a Championship tomorrow, in addition to $2 million.
Here is how it all went down.
First half
The Wolverines picked up where they left off the night before, following a 40-point blowout performance against San Diego State with an early 16-4 lead over No. 21 Auburn. While the Tigers went 0-for-8 to start the contest, Michigan spread the basketball, leading to a three by Nimari Burnett, a couple of and-one opportunities by Morez Johnson Jr. and strong rim protection by Aday Mara.
Desperate to get his team back in it, Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford finally drained a three-pointer five minutes into the game, and his teammate KeShawn Murphy followed suit on the ensuing possession, cutting the Michigan lead to six.
Following the first under-12 timeout, a four-minute track meet kicked off. Both teams traded blows, first from Tigers’ guard KeyShawn Hall, who put up eight quick points, and then followed by deep threes from Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau, Yaxel Lendeborg and Trey McKenney, extending the Wolverines’ lead to 34-20.
Out of the under-eight media timeout, Michigan blew the doors open. While former Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl refused to say anything about the Wolverines on the broadcast, the Wolverines *quietly* went on a 23-8 run, turning four forced turnovers into a couple of triples by McKenney and Lendeborg, and second-chance opportunities by Johnson Jr. and Roddy Gayle Jr., ballooning its lead to 57-28 with just under a minute to play in the first half.
Simply put, Michigan followed a strong first half a night ago with an even better half against an arguably better team on Tuesday night, overpowering the Tigers behind the arc (7 threes to 5), points in the paint (24-8), and fast break points (13-2), taking a commanding 59-31 lead into halftime.
Halftime: Michigan 59, Auburn 31
Second half
Despite already holding a nearly-30 point lead, the Wolverines came out of halftime with a sense of urgency. Auburn got into a small rhythm with a few makes by Pettiford and Hall, but Michigan quickly answered, making its first three shots behind the arc, courtesy of Gayle and Lendeborg, increasing its lead to 72-42.
Despite Pettiford and Hall’s continued efforts, the Wolverines did not let up. Gayle scored eight points over the next 10 minutes of play, Michigan controlled the basketball, giving up just two turnovers in that span, and the Wolverines shot over 70 percent from the field for majority of the second half to take an 91-62 lead with under seven minutes to go in the contest.
With the game essentially put away, Mara continued to showcase his size and strength, adding five more rebounds and a couple of points until head coach Dusty May emptied his bench, allowing freshmen Oscar Goodman, Winters Grady and Malik Kordell to get some more action in big moments.
In that time, Goodman added a poster to his highlight reel and Grady knocked down a three to surpass 100 team points, as the Wolverines cruised to another massive victory, defeating Auburn, 102-72.
Final Score: Michigan 102, Auburn 72
Up next
Michigan will face either the Tennessee Volunteers or the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Championship game of the Players Era Festival on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. on TNT. The matchup will be the fourth between the two programs since 2011, with Michigan holding a 3-0 record in that time.
Michigan stat leaders
F Yaxel Lendeborg: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
G Roddy Gayle Jr: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
F Morez Johnson Jr: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
G Nimari Burnett: 15 points, 5 rebounds
G Trey McKenney: 11 points (3-for-6 from three), 7 rebounds
Auburn stat leaders
G Tahaad Pettiford: 16 points, 1 assist
G KeyShawn Hall: 15 points, 5 rebounds
F Filip Jovic: 13 points, 6 rebounds
