Auburn in third Elite Eight after taking down Michigan

–Jack Batten, Field Level Media, Photos by Kameron Taylor for the Albany Herald

ATLANTA — Johni Broome recorded a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 1 seed Auburn to a 78-65 win over No. 5 seed Michigan in Friday’s NCAA Tournament South Region semifinal.

Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford added 20 points apiece for the Tigers (31-5), who rallied from a nine-point, second-half deficit en route to the program’s third Elite Eight, where they will face No. 2 seed Michigan State on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.

Danny Wolf scored 20 points to lead Michigan (27-10), while Vladislav Goldin chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds and Nimari Burnett also had 10 points, paired with seven boards.

Trailing 30-29 at halftime, Michigan opened the second half on a 13-6 run, capped with Roddy Gayle Jr.’s three-point play to build a 42-36 edge with 14:36 left.

Broome cut Auburn’s deficit in half with a three-point play of his own, before Wolf’s consecutive layups and Will Tschetter’s two free throws extended the Wolverines’ lead to 48-39 with 12:26 to play.

From there, Pettiford and Denver Jones each buried a 3-pointer, beginning a 12-0 Auburn run to grab a 51-48 lead at the 9:19 mark.

Rubin Jones answered with a much-needed layup for Michigan, but Jones continued to find the range, knocking in two more 3-pointers and a layup to push Auburn’s cushion to 59-50.

The prolonged run was extended to 28-6 after Pettiford’s triple and three-point play gave the Tigers a 67-54 edge, igniting the Auburn-heavy State Farm Arena crowd. Chaney Johnson’s dunk punctuated Auburn’s 31st win – setting a program record.

After an early 6-0 spurt gave Auburn a 9-5 edge, Goldin and Tre Donaldson’s back-to-back baskets stamped a 10-4 Michigan run to grab a 15-13 lead with just over 11 minutes left.

Wolf scored the Wolverines’ next seven points, including his dunk for a 22-21 advantage. Michigan’s largest lead of the first half came at the 5:22 mark, when Burnett’s 3-pointer pushed the margin to 27-23.

Broome accounted for the final three points of the opening half, giving Auburn a one-point halftime lead. In a sloppy first 20 minutes, the Tigers turned the ball over 10 times while Michigan was forced into eight giveaways.