Just a day after No. 22 Auburn faces off against the Oregon Ducks, the Tigers are scheduled to take on No. 7 Michigan. This game against a loaded Wolverines roster comes as Auburn’s second top-10 opponent in its last four games, with two more remaining in nonconference play against No. 4 Arizona and No. 1 Purdue in December. The first of these top-10 matchups took place in Birmingham last weekend, with Auburn losing to the now-No. 2 Houston Cougars in a 73–72 nail-biter. First-year coach Steven Pearl and the Tigers will hope to make up for this heartbreaking loss with a win over the Wolverines in front of a home crowd.
Michigan is a familiar opponent for the Tigers. Just last March, the teams faced off in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, with Auburn winning the matchup 78–65 on the way to its second-ever Final Four appearance — and its first since 2019.
Even so, both teams have experienced significant roster turnover since. Michigan lost its esteemed big-man duo of Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin to the NBA over the summer; both received All–Big Ten second-team honors. The Wolverines also lost their lead guard — and former Auburn player — Tre Donaldson to the transfer portal. Their biggest returning contributor is Roddy Gayle, a reliable starter and, amusingly enough, a former Ohio State Buckeye.
What Michigan may have lost last season, it made up for through the portal and its recruiting class. The Wolverines picked up UAB transfer and two-time AAC Defensive Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg (their current leading scorer), UCLA transfer Aday Mara (their current rebounds and blocks leader), and UNC transfer Elliot Cadeau (their assists leader) this spring. Other key contributors include Illinois transfer Morez Johnson (the team’s second-leading scorer) and top-30 freshman recruit Trey McKenney (the team leader in 3-point percentage).
Similarly, Auburn has experienced major turnover as well, with sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford being the Tigers’ only returning player who logged significant minutes a season ago. Pettiford has had a slow start to the year by his standards, but he has shown a tendency to perform in big games over the past two seasons.
Auburn has also had some strong early-season performances from transfers, most prominently UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall, the Big 12 Conference’s leading scorer from a year ago. The Tigers will hope to see more newcomers step up, such as KeShawn Murphy from Mississippi State, Kevin Overton from Texas Tech, Division II transfer Elyjah Freeman, and freshmen Kaden Magwood, Sebastian Williams-Adams and Simon Walker. Murphy and Walker put on a show against Jackson State last Wednesday, combining for 36 points in just 28 total minutes on the court.
Will the Tigers pull off the upset victory against the Wolverines on Tuesday? Make sure to tune in at 7:30 p.m. CT to find out!
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
