Michigan basketball can’t keep up in second half, falls to Auburn 78-65 in sweet 16

One could say No. 5 seed Michigan men’s basketball (27-10) was playing with house money in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. After all, the Wolverines won eight games last season and came into this campaign with an almost completely different team. Top-seeded Auburn (31-5) was in it for the long haul Friday night, coming out on top 78-65 with a big second-half push.

Auburn takes down Michigan in Sweet 16 with scoring flurry

Auburn guard Denver Jones scored the first points of the game with a three-pointer near the top of the key. Michigan point guard and former Tiger Tre Donaldson made a three to match, and it was the beginning of a back-and-forth battle.

Michigan forward Danny Wolf had half of his team’s points (11 of 22) at the 7:04 mark. The Wolverines led 27-23 with 5:22 left in the half after guard Nimari Burnett buried a three-pointer on the left wing.

Michigan was outscored by Auburn 7-2 to end the half and went into the locker room down 30-29. The Wolverines forced the Tigers into a season-high ten first-half turnovers, but turned it into just six points.

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Michigan was out-rebounded 29-17 before halftime. Auburn forward Johni Broome was all over the glass, posting 11 boards (and ten points). Wolf led the Wolverines with 11 points to go with three rebounds. Donaldson and Burnett each had five points.

To get the second half started offensively for Michigan, Wolf hit a step-back three to put it up 32-30. The Wolverines began to click on offense and had a 48-39 advantage at the 12:26 mark after forward Will Tschetter hit 2-of-2 free throws.

The Tigers went on a 12-0 run including two buckets from deep range to grab their first lead (49-48) since they were up 30-29. Auburn got its biggest advantage of the game (57-50) with back-to-back three-pointers from Jones. Following a TV timeout at the 7:38 mark, Jones hit a layup to give the Tigers another nine point lead (59-50).

Michigan center Vladislav Goldin got his team within seven with free throws, but Auburn soon was up by double-digits after guard Tahaad Pettiford hit a three-pointer. Pettiford came off the bench and provided 20 points for the Tigers.

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The Wolverines seemed to run out of steam, as they made two field goals over the final 6:51 of the game. Auburn was intense on the glass and pulled down 19 offensive rebounds, nine of which came from Broome. Broome finished with a game-high 22 points and 16 boards.

Wolf ended with a team-high 20 points to go with six rebounds for Michigan. Goldin and Burnett were the only other Wolverines to score in double-figures as each had ten points.

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