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Auburn and Michigan squared off in the Sweet 16 on Friday night. However, that game was not dominated by crisp basketball for much of the evening.
In the first half, both teams shot below 36% from the floor, including Auburn shooting a particularly scary 3-for-16 (18.8%) from 3-point range. It was also a rough first half of ball control with Michigan and Auburn combining for 18 total turnovers in the first 20 minutes of the game.
It led to Bruce Pearl’s Tigers grinding out a 30-29 lead at the break behind an impressive performance on the boards, dominating the glass in spite of Michigan’s twin towers of Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf. That halftime lead would not last long, though.
Coming out of the break, the Wolverines would go on a 19-9 run across the first 7 and a half minutes to build a 9-point lead. It looked like Dusty May’s squad might run all the way with things into a Sunday evening showdown vs. archrival Michigan State, but the exact opposite happened.
Four different Tigers chipped in on the scoring of a 12-0 run that flipped the script and gave Auburn a 3-point lead with just over 9 minutes to play. After a quick basket by Michigan, it was another key run, this time delivered solely by Denver Jones.
Jones drilled a pair of 3-pointers and another bucket in a solo 8-point run to firmly grab control. A 3-pointer by Tahaad Pettiford with 5:12 remaining would give Auburn its first double-digit lead of the game before cruising the rest of the way to the 78-65 victory.
TAHAAD. PETTIFORD. 😤#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/T5vodknAnk
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 29, 2025
Neither team was efficient from 3-point range, but it was Auburn who made 3 more baskets from long range in the win. The rebounding battle was also a major factor with the Tigers going +15 on the glass and outscoring the Wolverines 21-9 in 2nd-chance points.
As he has been all season long, Johni Broome was the heart and soul for Auburn, fighting through foul trouble to lead the Tigers with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Pettiford ended the game with 20 points while Jones also chipped in 20 while going 4-for-7 from deep.
For Michigan, Wolf led the team with 20 points, but he was the only truly effective performer for the Wolverines. Goldin was limited to a 2-for-9 shooting performance while former Auburn player Tre Donaldson also struggled while going 2-for-9. As a team, Michigan shot 35.6% from the floor and 4-for-15 (29.4%) from 3-point range.
The South Region will come down to Auburn vs. Michigan State on Sunday with the winner advancing to the Final Four.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.