There are plenty of storylines going into this Sweet 16 showdown at State Farm Arena between the top-seeded Tigers and No. 5 seed Michigan as Auburn takes on a pair of familiar faces in former Tiger Tre Donaldson and ex-Yale Bulldog Danny Wolf, who played a key role in Auburn’s early exit from the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
Coming into postseason play, the Wolverines were on a three-game skid but have since won the Big Ten Conference Tournament and knocked off 12-seed UC San Diego along with No. 4 seed Texas A&M in the Round of 32 to go on a five-game winning streak. First-year head coach Dusty May has rejuvenated the Wolverines’ program since arriving in Ann Arbor, leading Michigan to 19 more wins than it saw a season ago.
“How good of a hire was Dusty May for Michigan?” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “How good of a hire was that?”
Playing under May at Florida Atlantic and helping the Owls reach the Elite Eight two years ago, 7-foot-1 center Vladislav Goldin leads the Wolverines in scoring with 16.8 points per game while shooting 61.6% from the field. He is joined by Wolf, who hauls in 9.8 rebounds per game, leading a squad that ranks 26th nationally with 38.6 rebounds per game while also adding 13 points per contest. The two anchor the Wolverines’ offense and will give Auburn big men Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell and Chaney Johnson one of the toughest challenges the Tigers’ frontcourt has seen this year.
“These two guys are special,” Pearl said. “Goldin, in the Big Ten, he was the best player on the floor almost every single night. And Wolf, there's not another 7-footer in college basketball that resembles him. He's got Larry Bird type ball handling, passing, feel. He's just a gifted, gifted player. Obviously, they work beautifully together."
“They're going up against Dylan Cardwell and Johni Broome and Chaney Johnson, those three guys are going to be the focus of our defensive attack. Our ability to defend those two guys, as well as No. 42, who comes off the bench and shoots it a little bit for them, is going to be really the difference in the outcome," he added.
Another familiar face for Tiger fans, Donaldson is as big a reason as anyone on the Wolverines’ roster for their recent postseason surge, knocking down huge shots in late-game situations the last two weeks while posting a team-high 4.2 assists per game for a squad averaging 16.1 assists per game, good for 37th in the nation.
The 6-foot-3 guard, who spent two years at Auburn under Pearl, knows how the Tigers operate and said it gives him an advantage on the court.
“I was there for two years, so I know how it operates; I know how everything runs. When you're around people for so long, you catch on to what they do for sure. I definitely have tried to help as much as I can with that aspect just to give us our best chance to win,” Donaldson said.
The list of familiar foes who will be sitting on the Wolverines’ bench doesn’t end there. Pearl’s most heralded player when taking over on the Plains in 2014, KT Harrell is decked out in navy and yellow as the Director of Basketball Operations. Harrell was on Pearl’s staff from 2020-22 and is quite familiar with what the Tigers want to do on both ends of the floor.
With a trip to the Elite Eight on the line and deep connections on both sides, this Sweet 16 matchup is poised to be a good one.
Tipoff is set for 8:39 on CBS on Saturday.
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