ATLANTA — The Sweet Sixteen matchup between No. 1 seed Auburn and the No. 5 seed Michigan men’s basketball team is a tale of two very different seasons. The Tigers, on one hand, have been national championship favorites since midseason. Yet, they have gone 3-3 in their last six games, including a loss to Texas A&M in their final regular season game, a team the Wolverines beat in the second round of March Madness. The Wolverines, on the other hand, have won five straight — leading to a Big Ten Tournament Championship and two wins in the NCAA Tournament when many doubted it could win any.
Auburn started the season strong but, despite still being the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, is now showing signs of weakness against a variety of opponents on all levels. The Tigers are still the favorites, though, so Michigan — as it has for the last two weeks — is embracing that chip on its shoulder.
“We don’t have pressure to go out there and feel like we have to do something that we’re not supposed to do, we’ve been doubted these past eight games or so,” junior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. said Thursday. “Even right before the Big Ten Tournament, I feel like we’ve been doubted and people didn’t expect us to do the things that we do. I think that’s why we’ve been successful because I feel like we kind of have that ability to prove everybody wrong.”
With vastly different paths converging in the Sweet Sixteen, one aspect of the game will likely be a major factor in the outcome: the level of play from each team’s frontcourt.
Junior forward Danny Wolf has firsthand experience of playing against the Tigers frontcourt and its formidability when his former team, Yale, played them in last year’s first round. And even more than having just played against them, Wolf knows how to beat them as the Bulldogs pulled off the upset last season.
“I’m excited for the matchup as I was last year, and even more so now,” Wolf said. “I’m sure those bigs are excited for the matchup too. I’d like to think we’re two of the best frontcourts in the country.”
Michigan’s frontcourt is highlighted by Wolf and graduate center Vlad Goldin who have been the Wolverines’ leaders on the offensive side of the ball for the vast majority of the season. Goldin averages 17.6 points and 3.4 offensive rebounds per game in just the postseason, and combined with Wolf’s 14 points and 3.4 O-boards per game in the postseason create a matchup nightmare for almost any team.
“These two guys are special,” Auburn coach Bruce 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. … Our ability to defend those two guys … is going to be really the difference in the outcome.”
Auburn’s frontcourt, though, might present the biggest challenge for Wolf and Goldin to date. Unanimous First-team All-American and SEC Player of the Year forward Johni Broome and center Dylan Cardwell both start, and are accompanied by forward Chaney Johnson off the bench. As a group, they posed a challenge for most front courts in the SEC and around the country, and could match up well against Michigan.
Although Broome highlights that room, his ability to make everyone around him better through his playmaking could cause the Wolverines issues.
“They have maybe four to five playmakers on the court at one time,” Gayle said. “You can’t really double Johni in the post because he’s a terrific passer, but he has guys surrounded him who can shoot the three very well or cut very well. So just their depth is something that is really good.”
The Sweet Sixteen between Michigan and Auburn will be a matchup of two teams with different recent trajectories, yet similar strengths. The X-factors for each team will be nearly the same, but the execution in those areas will decide a winner.
The post Michigan and Auburn’s differing paths yet similar strengths converge in Sweet Sixteen matchup appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
Leave a Reply