By Ken Cross
ATLANTA, Ga. –
War Eagle: Auburn trailed 48-39 with 11:57 left in the game, but the character and talent of the Tigers saw them close the game on a 39-17 run and humble the Michigan Wolverines, 78-65, to advance to Sunday’s Elite Eight against Michigan State. The immediacy of the Tigers’ 21-2 run over the next four and a half minutes was a knockout punch as guard Denver Jones hit the Wolverines with his own 8-0 sprint when he made two threes and a driving layup out of a half-court set to provide the last eight points in the decisive run. Guard Tahaad Pettiford showed why he is clutch as a freshman in scoring 13 of his 20 points in that ending as he controlled the Michigan defense with his ball-handling skills and seven in a row as his fade-away jumper off of the right lane with his free throw to give Auburn a 67-54 lead with a little over three minutes remaining.
Maize & Blue: Danny Wolf continues as one of the top focal points in any matchup and he kept the Wolverines in upset mode for about 30 minutes and finished with 20 points and six boards. He has a nice collection of moves inside, but also is a complementary three-point shooter. Auburn held the Wolverines’ Nimari Burnett to only one three-point field goal as he lead the Wolverines with 65 this season. Former Tigers guard Tre Donaldson had only five points on 2-of-9 shooting as Auburn controlled Donaldson as well.
Key Statistics: Johni Broome led the Tigers with 22 points and 16 rebounds as he kept Auburn in range, scoring 11 points in a row from 2:33 remaining in the first until Pettiford cut the score back to 48-42 on his triple with 12:11 remaining in the game. Broome has an NCAA record of 19 double-doubles this season where he has averaged 18.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. The Auburn defense was stellar over that last 11:57 as it held Michigan to 4-of-16 from the floor with four turnovers. The Tigers outrebounded the Wolverines, 48-33, and outscored the Wolverines, 21-9, off of the offensive glass. The Tigers’ defense also allowed the Wolverines only six assists on 21 makes.
Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, on Auburn’s ability to control the game: “Obviously, we went on a 34-8 run in the second half, and it’s just the kids’ will to win. They just locked down defensively. I thought Dylan Cardwell did an incredible job on Goldin. I thought Johni, Dylan, Chaney were physical with those guys and didn’t let them dominate the game with their size, which they do against most opponents.”
Wolverines head coach Dusty May, on the combination of Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin in the paint: “They became a national story because of the unique skill sets, how well they worked together. But also, the other three guys on the court didn’t get as much credit as they deserve because they were the ones spacing, cutting, feeding the ball, whatever the case.”