It was sad. Not because they lost but because the ending was humiliating. The great Michigan team of 2024-25 was left in their zone defense positions while the Auburn player bounced the ball over his head.
Play hard lose hard has to be the moral of the story. And this season there were a lot of difficult wins too.
Tahaad Pettiford is allowed.
Atlanta is not a neutral site for an Aurburn-Michigan game. The team did their very best.
The Game
I wish I could find the full game video to take another look. Youtube has established a virtual monopoly (pun not intended) and CBS, the NCAA and whoever don't allow that.
1. Two things stick in memory. Pettiford won it. He didn't make them all, but he made several unreal 3's at the right times. And the rest of his game, e.g., passing, helped too. He didn't even start. The way things work now this tournament will be the end of his college career. For Michigan, Rubin Jones could not stop him.
2. Johni Broome--if you leave him open he will make it--and his other offensive moves were a difference maker. I don't know what Auburn did defensively but it was the worst Vlad Goldin offensive impact in a long time (his free throws near the end helped).
3. Other Auburn players helped. Denver Jones had 18 points and wasn't even their star.
4. Pearl is a sleaze. Whatever he did during the timeout worked.
Michigan didn't look particularly rested or sharp. Auburn went after the dribblers and it worked, particularly against Gayle and Goldin. Several Michigan players just didn't make their presence felt. Danny Wolf led the way but it was not for the whole game and it was not enough when it counted.
Michigan was an (almost) all transfer team. Auburn is a transfer team with experience playing together and homegrown talent. This is what Dusty May and Michigan must do to remain near the top in the Big Ten. They are going to have to develop something that will last more than one year. I don't look forward to another up and down season of Roddy Gayle. Donaldson needs to improve his scoring, assists, and turnovers; Tschetter is solid off the bench; Cason and perhaps Phat Phat provide some continuity. Burnett may or may not remain as depth.
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Auburn basketball is an older team with lots of transfers. They have some home-grown talent and a 5-star freshman. They have height.
Michigan is older too (Burnett is 23 and Goldin will be 24 in May) and virtually all transfers. One freshman plays; another is in the portal. One player, a freshman, is from Michigan.
Bruce Pearl is as sleazy as they come. He has built a very good team with transfers and others. Is Michigan any better or cleaner? That is what matters, not the score or outcome.
Synonyms for "clean program" depending on the context could include "purification program," "sanitation program," "sterilization program," "detox program," or "rehab program"
The Matt Weiss arrest shows once again that Michigan has problems. Sherrone Moore still hasn't shown the backbone to clean up football. And Warde is only going to get fatter.
With--in the last year(s)--and after Juwan Howard the basketball program was a void. Dusty May has an all-transfer team with one holdover (Will Tschetter) and one freshman (L.J. Cason) who plays. Will the Auburn game be a defining moment? Can it prove that Michigan is a strong, clean, reputable program?
This is a strong Michigan team. The crammed-in Big Ten tournament, then Denver, and now it will be late Eastern by the time the game starts. There are other tough Big Ten teams, like Maryland; plus there are Big Ten teams like Michigan State (Purdue is capable but it is not their best year) still left. Very often, as with Texas A&M (SEC), the pundits have been wrong with Michigan this year. They will be prepared and it will be an exciting game. One wildcard? Roddy Gayle, Jr.
I try to shy away from difficult predictions in writing. I guarantee this: Michigan will not give up. And you never know when Bruce Pearl will get fired again or possibly arrested.
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