ATLANTA — Down by nine in the second half, Auburn roared to life with a relentless 39-17 run to stun Michigan 78-65 on Friday at State Farm Arena, surging into the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019.
Tahaad Pettiford sparked the Tigers’ game-winning runner. with a 3-pointer at the 12:11 mark, followed by a deep shot from Denver Jones that cut Michigan’s lead to 48-45.
Pettiford made a jumper at the 11:48 mark to put Auburn ahead by one, a lead the Tigers maintained to defeat Michigan. After leading by nine, the Wolverines made just four shots in the final 12 minutes of play.
“Denver went on a 10-0 run by himself. Tahaad went on a 10-0 run by himself,” said Johni Broome of the guards’ performance. “Just guys like that who can create shots, it takes the load off of me. I wasn't playing my best game today, but I had my guards come through and take big shots.”
However, Auburn’s first-half and early second-half performance was far from dominant. The Tigers clung to a one-point halftime lead after committing 10 turnovers, shooting just 12-of-37 from the field and 3-of-16 from beyond the arc.
Both teams struggled with ball control, combining for 18 turnovers in the opening half. Auburn capitalized with 11 points off giveaways, while Michigan managed only six.
Broome anchored Auburn in the first half with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting and 11 rebounds. Jones added seven points, while Pettiford chipped in five.
“The deal was we turned the ball over a little bit. We made some mistakes, and I let them kind of jaw at each other a little bit and then go, hey, man, we're good. We're in a great spot,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl on the team’s first half performance. “I love the energy. I love the pace. Just slow down a little bit with the ball. We're just rushing.”
Despite a shaky first half, Auburn dominated the boards, out-rebounding Michigan 29-17 and grabbing 11 offensive rebounds before the break.
Michigan big man Danny Wolf tallied 11 points in the first half and added nine more in the first seven minutes of the second, but the Tigers held him scoreless over the final 13 minutes.
The Tigers opened the second half with more miscues, committing four turnovers in the first nine minutes. But once Auburn ignited its game-winning run, it tightened up, turning the ball over just once the rest of the way.
Auburn held a 48-33 advantage on the boards, including a season-high 19 offensive rebounds. The Tigers converted those into 21 second-chance points, compared to just nine for Michigan.
Broome led the way with 22 points and 16 rebounds, while Pettiford and Jones each added 20 from the backcourt — Pettiford going 7-for-14 and Jones 7-for-13 from the field. Key shots from the trio during Auburn’s second-half run helped secure the program’s first Elite Eight appearance since 2019.
“We're not going to do too much celebrating tonight,” Broome said. “We've got another game. We've got to prep. We've got to take care of our bodies. We've got to rest. Let's try to get to San Antonio to the Final Four.”
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
