ATLANTA — After an abysmal first half that saw the Tigers commit 10 turnovers, No. 1 seed Auburn caught fire midway through the second half to take down No. 5 seed Michigan 78-65 in front of a sea of orange and blue at State Farm Arena, punching its ticket to the Elite Eight.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Abysmal first half
Neither team found a groove in the early goings, and it led to one of the worst offensive halves Auburn has played this season.
Coming into the game averaging just 9.3 turnovers per game, the Tigers committed 10 in the first 20 minutes with sloppy display on that end of the floor that saw Auburn shoot just 32% from the field. In addition, the fouls began to pile up for Auburn as it committed seven personal fouls in the half with Johni Broome drawing two – bad news for a team going up against its toughest challenge in the frontcourt this season.
Though the looks were open, Auburn was just 3-of-16 from deep in the half and continued to settle for shots from beyond the arc. However, through all of that, the Tigers held a 30-29 lead, partly due to a Broome 10-point, 11-rebound double-double and forcing Michigan into eight first-half turnovers.
Big momentum shift
Auburn’s disjointed display of offense continued to start the second half, and the turnovers continued – it committed its 14th turnover of the game right before the under-12 break, which was the most the Tigers have committed since the SEC opener against Missouri. Michigan, led by Danny Wolf, went up nine on the Tigers at the 12:26 mark and the air was sucked out of the building.
But nonetheless, Auburn prevailed and went on an overall 20-2 run over the next five and half minutes to take a lead it would never relinquish.
Denver Jones, who came alive in the second half to finish with 20 points on the night, buried a pair of treys to give Auburn a 7-point lead and Tahaad Pettiford - who also finished with 20 points - followed with an 8-1 run of his own to give the Tigers a 13-point lead with under five to play.
Auburn began to trail at the 17:41 mark in the second half but held Michigan to just 10 made field goals in the half and to just two of their last 10 from the field to finish off the night.
Broome feasts in battle of the bigs
Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf presented Auburn with its toughest frontcourt challenge this season, and Wolf certainly got his. He finished with 20 points and was just one of three Wolverines to score in double figures.
But Broome proved why he’s the best big man in the country.
The All-American center recorded a double-double in the first half and finished his night with a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds for his 20th double-double of the season and 80th of his career.
Tigers crash the glass
Michigan boasted a pair of bigs who stood over 7 feet tall, and it was coming off a performance in which it outrebounded Texas A&M, the seventh-best rebounding team in the nation, 48-39.
The Tigers made it their mission to control the glass from the jump, winning the battle on the board 48-33. This was part of the reason their 15 total turnovers didn’t rear their ugly heads in the final minutes. Auburn was able to muster 71 shots from the field, compared to Michigan's 59, and hauled in 19 offensive boards for 21 second-chance points.
Auburn will return to action in the Elite Eight against No. 2 seed Michigan State on Sunday at 4:05 p.m.
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