What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
That’s what Steven Pearl will be telling his squad after tonight’s 102–72 loss to No. 7 Michigan. The good news for Auburn is that it gets another chance tomorrow against No. 14 St. John's to end its trip out west on a positive note.
Michigan head coach Dusty May has probably been thinking about this game since the schedule came out, and it showed as the Wolverines outclassed the Tigers in nearly every major statistical category, getting their revenge from last season’s heartbreaking Sweet 16 loss to Auburn. May's team jumped out to an early 16-4 advantage and never relinquished the lead.
“It’s not productive to feel sorry for yourself,” Pearl said. “When you have three assists, you’re going to lose by 30. … That’s not Auburn basketball. That’s not who we are. That’s not who we’re going to be.”
Coming into this season, one worry for the Tigers was their size compared to other teams, and that worry became a reality tonight. Michigan dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle 51–35. 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara led the way for the Wolverines with eight rebounds.
Auburn couldn’t get any shots to fall all night, shooting 35.5% from the field as a team. Tahaad Pettiford posted 16 points in the loss. Once again, the Tigers also struggled from the free throw line, shooting 54.5%. Freshman Filip Jovic had a rough night, shooting 5-for-11 from the charity stripe.
“Nobody represented Auburn basketball today,” Jovic said. “We need to change that tomorrow.”
Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field. Former Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl mentioned on the TNT broadcast that the Tigers offered Lendeborg $1 million in NIL this past offseason and it “wasn’t enough to warm him up.” According to reports from CBS Sports, the highly touted player received around $3 million from May and his staff.
The silver lining in tonight’s blowout loss for Auburn is that it’s still November. There’s still a long way to go in this young season, and the Tigers’ story will continue to be written on Wednesday. Tipoff against Rick Pitino and the Red Storm is set for 7:00 p.m. CST.
“If you don’t use that anger to take it out on whoever we play tomorrow, then you’re really missing the point of what we’re doing,” Pearl said.
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Rory is a sophomore majoring in journalism sports production. He started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @RorymGarvin
