Michigan
27-10,14-6Big Ten
Auburn
31-5,15-3SEC
No. 4 Auburn Eliminates U-M from NCAA Tourney With Strong Second Half
3/29/2025 1:18:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ATLANTA, Ga. -- The 14th-ranked and No. 5-seeded University of Michigan men's basketball team was unable to respond to 25-6 second-half run from No. 4-ranked and top seed Auburn half, falling 78-65 in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on Friday night (March 28) at State Farm Arena.
Leaders and Best
Danny Wolf scored 20 points and had six rebounds. Nimari Burnett and Vladislav Goldin each added 10 to go along with their seven and nine rebounds, respectively.
Second Half
A Wolf stepback three-pointer kicked off second-half scoring for Michigan (27-10), which scored on the fast break on the two succeeding possessions. Three early U-M turnovers helped Auburn (31-5) cut U-M's lead to one, 37-36, before Roddy Gayle Jr. converted an and-one basket with 14:36 left to slow the run. Wolf made back-to-back layups for his 20th point of the game, leading to two Will Tschetter free throws to bring the U-M lead to nine, 48-39, with 12:26 remaining.
Auburn went a 12-0 run during a three-minute Wolverine scoreless drought to take its first lead of the second half, 51-48, with just under 10 minutes to go. Rubin Jones countered with a driving layup to stop the run, but the Tigers continued on their hot streak, making three consecutive baskets to lead by nine with 7:27 remaining. Goldin made a deep hook shot and got fouled to cut into the Auburn lead, but once again, the Tigers made successive shots to lead by double-digits, 67-54, with 4:35 on the clock. From there, U-M got no closer than 10 points, making only two of its final 10 field-goal attempts.
The Wolverines were outscored 25-6 over a stretch of 7:30 in the half to relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game. Auburn used three 20-point scorers and 23 points off turnovers to defeat Michigan and advance to the Elite Eight.
First Half
Michigan and Auburn started the game with a three-pointer after missing several shots, evening the score just over two minutes into the game. The Tigers took their largest lead of the half, 9-5, with 15:52 remaining before back-to-back Wolf buckets a minute later tied up the game at nine. Both teams proceeded to go cold from the field, with Auburn shooting 1-for-7 to allow Michigan to take the lead, 15-13, with 11 minutes left on a Tre Donaldson turnaround jumper.
Wolf dunked for his 11th point of the half and the ninth lead change of the game with seven minutes remaining, bringing the U-M lead back to a point, 22-21. Several possessions later, a Burnett three-pointer brought the Wolverine lead to its largest of the half, 27-23, with 5:22 on the clock. Michigan ended the half with four turnovers and close to a three-minute scoring drought, giving Auburn a slight advantage, 30-29, going into the half.
Michigan had eight turnovers, while the Tigers had 10, resulting in the teams combining for 17 points off miscues. Auburn outrebounded Michigan 29-17 with 11 offensive rebounds, and the Wolverines had three. U-M shot 3-for-9 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc, while Auburn made three of its 16 attempts (18.8 percent).
With the loss, Michigan's season is completed. U-M posted a 19-game turnaround, closed as the Big Ten runner-up (14-6), and won three games in three days to capture the program's fourth Big Ten Tournament title. With an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Wolverines advanced to the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight time.
Notes
• With his seven points, Gayle reached 1,000 (1,002) for his three-year career.
• In each of his last three seasons, Dusty May earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament and twice advanced to the Sweet 16 (2023 and 2025).
• Michigan is 4-8 against No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. U-M's last win over a top seed was during U-M's 2013 Final Four run against Kansas.
• Michigan's game against No. 4 Auburn was the 14th against teams in the top 25 this season. U-M finished 8-6.
