Dusty May addresses mindset entering break before Sweet 16 matchup vs. Auburn

The Michigan Wolverines, in their first season under head coach Dusty May, have made the Sweet 16. That comes after Michigan survived an upset bid from UCSD before taking out the higher-seeded Texas A&M.

Immediately following their second round win, May looked ahead to their Sweet 16 game. At the time, he wasn’t even yet aware that the Wolverines would be playing Auburn, but he did explain that it’s going to be a major goal for the Wolverines to stay focused amid a break from NCAA Tournament action.

“That’s going to be the challenge,” Dusty May said. “This is the tough part. This is, I think, the sixth consecutive time Michigan has been in the Sweet 16. So, this is just kind of — when you get here, this is what you do. So, we have to be careful when we get back and figure out who we play, we’ve got to cleanse this and we’ve got to be mature about it and turn all of our focus and energy toward the preparation of Auburn or Creighton, two incredible basketball teams and programs.”

Michigan now knows that Auburn is going to be their opponent for the Sweet 16. A one-seed, the Tigers ended up beating Creighton 82-70. This comes in a season where Auburn is now 30-5 overall and has been widely seen as a contender to win the national championship.

“That’s the challenge this time of year,” May said. “To block out the extra noise, to stay in that foxhole with your teammates and staff and sports staff and everyone else. And you work since June really as a group to put yourself in position to do something enormous, and so we don’t have any regrets because we are content being at this point.”

The layoff between games is going to be nearly a week long for Michigan. Since conference play began, a five day layoff is the most time off Michigan would have without a game. However, going back to non-conference play, the Wolverines did have a longer layoff. In one eight-game layoff, May saw his team lose to Oklahoma at the Jumpman Invitational.

There is more on the line in this upcoming game than Michigan has had all season long. A loss would mean the Wolverines’ season has come to an end. However, with a win, the Wolverines would go to their first Elite Eight since 2021.

“We’ll enjoy it, we’ll get back to the practice court, we’ll address some things that need to be fixed,” May said. “And without a doubt, our guys, they’re so oriented, they’ll be ready to work.”