LAS VEGAS — Before Michigan took the Michelob Ultra Arena court and dispatched San Diego State on Monday night, Michigan coach Dusty May and a few of his assistants sat courtside to watch some of the preceding game. They already knew they’d be playing Auburn next. The brief in-person scouting came eight months after Auburn ended Michigan’s season.
Will revenge be on the Wolverines’ minds when they get another crack at Auburn on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT)?
“Absolutely,” said senior Roddy Gayle Jr., who played 25 minutes in last season’s Sweet 16 loss to the Tigers. “I feel like we had an opportunity to be able to win the game last year in the Sweet 16. Obviously those guys were able to send us home. So I feel like there’s a lot more extra motivation going into the game.”
Gayle is one of four Wolverines who played in that NCAA Tournament matchup, a 78-65 Auburn victory on March 28. A fifth scholarship player, redshirt freshman Oscar Goodman, was on the bench that night in Atlanta. Michigan has three returning walk-ons in addition to the entire coaching staff.
Auburn is in a much different situation. Head coach Bruce Pearl has since retired, with his son Steven, on staff since 2017, taking over. Johni Broome, that game’s leading scorer and a first-team All-American, is in the NBA. Just one of the eight Tigers who played against Michigan is still on the team: Sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford, who scored 20 points off the bench that night.
Michigan led by nine points with just over 12 minutes left before Pettiford’s 3 started a 20-2 Auburn run from which Michigan never recovered.
Gayle said the returners, which also include Nimari Burnett, Will Tschetter and L.J. Cason, will also be playing for their former teammates no longer at Michigan, like Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin. “I feel like we owe them what we weren’t able to give them last year,” Gayle said.
May won’t enter the game, Michigan’s second in the Players Era Championship, thinking about revenge. “Hopefully the guys in the locker room there’s a little extra juice,” he said, “because anytime someone ends your season it doesn’t feel great.” While Auburn bounced May’s team from last year’s NCAA Tournament, Monday’s opponent had that honor in 2023, when May was at Florida Atlantic. While May lost that Final Four game, Michigan had no trouble with the Aztecs in Vegas, cruising to a 94-54 win.
In the game prior, Auburn beat Oregon 84-73.
Gayle is excited about the quick turnaround. “It’s bringing me back to the AAU days,” he said with a smile. He thinks the Wolverines are well equipped to handle the scouting report in a short time.
“One advantage that we have is our deep roster,” he said. “We’re not really relying on six, seven guys. We can go as deep as we can. That’s just one of the superpowers of our team right now.”
