Michigan will play top-overall seed Auburn in Sweet Sixteen
The Michigan Wolverines marched past Texas A&M on Saturday night in Denver and now know their opponent for the Sweet Sixteen in Atlanta – the top-seeded Auburn Tigers. Tip-off time is not yet available, but the game will be Friday night at State Farm Center, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
Michigan took down the Aggies by a score of 91-79 two days after a 68-65 win over UC San Diego in the first round. Auburn beat Alabama State and Creighton on its road to the Sweet Sixteen. The game will feature an interesting storyline with Wolverine point guard Tre Donaldson taking on his former team. He previously spent two years with the Tigers.
This is U-M’s sixth-straight appearance in the Sweet Sixteen when it makes the Field of 68, and its eighth trip since 2013.
This will be an opportunity for Michigan to get some extended rest after a quick turnaround from the Big Ten Tournament win on Sunday, then a trip to Denver Tuesday through Saturday. It will now have three full days of rest before departing for Atlanta on Wednesday.
“That’s going to be the challenge that — this is the tough part,” head coach Dusty May said after the win on Saturday. “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.
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“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.
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“That’s the challenge this time of year, 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 there’s — we don’t have any regrets because we are content being at this point.
“We’ll enjoy it. We’ll get back to the practice court. We’ll address some things that need to be fixed, and without a doubt, our guys, they’re so oriented, they’ll be ready to work.”
Auburn is 30-5 on the season and entered the tournament as its top-ranked team. They have tied a program record for wins in a season, and they ranked No. 2 on KenPom offensively and No. 13 on defense. The group is led by head coach Bruce Pearl and star Johni Broome, a contender for National Player of the Year honors.
