Michigan hammers Auburn by 30 in Vegas' Player Era Festival originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Las Vegas has a funny way of exposing teams. You can hide your flaws for a week, maybe two — but drop into a 24-hour turnaround against a real heavyweight, and whatever you are comes spilling out like a jackpot hit on the slots. On Tuesday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena, No. 7 Michigan walked in like a team that’s already figured out who it is. No. 21 Auburn walked in like a team trying to convince itself.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd by halftime, the convincing was over.
All the pregame noise pointed to coaching. Dusty May — “one of the best coaches in America,” hardened by tournament runs and short-prep chaos — against Stephen Pearl, coaching in his first real high-major pressure cooker. In a 24-hour prep window, the consensus was simple: fewer details, more clarity, execution above everything. Advantage Michigan.
Add in the Wolverines’ length, their true-road win at TCU, their 90.6 points per game, and their 50% shooting entering the night, and you could see why Vegas leaned Michigan -3.5. You could also see why it wasn’t nearly enough.
Michigan didn’t ease into anything — they detonated. An 11–2 run out of the gate. Ball pinging around like a pinball machine. Auburn opening 0-for-6. Tahaad Pettiford was the Tigers’ entire early offense — seven points while Michigan already had 17.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAuburn shot 17% in the opening stretch. Michigan? 51% for the game (35-of-68 FG). By the midpoint of the half, Michigan had six assists to Auburn’s two. The Tigers couldn’t run, couldn’t shift Michigan’s length, couldn’t find a rhythm in the halfcourt. Coming out of a timeout, Keyshawn Hall briefly resuscitated Auburn with seven straight points to cut it to 26–17 — but it was a raindrop in a storm.
Michigan’s shooters drilled 14-of-35 threes (40%). Auburn made 10-of-24 from deep (42%) but struggled elsewhere, shooting only 35% from the field overall. And inside? A mismatch bordering on uncomfortable.
Yaxel Lendeborg (17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 6-11 FG, 3-7 3PT), Morez Johnson Jr. (15 points, 5 rebounds, 6-7 FG), and Nimari Burnett (15 points, 5 rebounds, 5-7 FG) carved Auburn up. Michigan’s size didn’t just dictate the game — it bullied it. Aday Mara added a wall inside with 8 rebounds in just 16 minutes. Michigan finished with 51 rebounds to Auburn’s 35 and assisted on 19 baskets, more than doubling the Tigers’ eight.
When the halftime buzzer hit: Michigan 59, Auburn 31. Two turnovers. Thirteen second-chance points. A complete physical dismantling.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBy the time the lead stretched beyond 30 in the second half, the competitive tension evaporated and the human angle took over. Inside three minutes, Oscar Goodman caught an exclamation-point alley-oop that sent the entire building into a roar — everyone except one voice in the broadcast booth.
Bruce Pearl went silent. The former Auburn head coach sat courtside calling the game as his son’s team unraveled, possession by possession. You didn’t need a camera shot to feel it. Michigan was up 35. Auburn was absorbing its worst loss in years. And Stephen Pearl was absorbing the worst loss of his young coaching career.
For Auburn, Keyshawn Hall led the way with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 6-of-7 free throws. KeShawn Murphy added 12 points. Tahaad Pettiford finished with 16 points, all but one coming from beyond the arc or the free-throw line. But shooting 22-of-62 (35%) overall and making just 18-of-33 from the line, the Tigers couldn’t hang with Michigan’s balance and precision.
Michigan dominated the glass, punished every mistake, and looked fresher, sharper, and vastly more connected than a team playing its sixth game of the season should.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis wasn’t about 102–72. This was about readiness. About coaching gaps. About a Michigan team that’s built for a tournament push and an Auburn team still figuring out where the foundation even begins.
Dusty May distilled a 24-hour prep into a masterpiece. Stephen Pearl experienced the other side of tournament basketball harshly, loudly, and publicly. Las Vegas didn’t reveal anything new. It just made the truth impossible to miss.
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