Auburn basketball survived the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament advancing to its first Sweet Sixteen since 2019.

The Tigers defeated Creighton 82-70 setting up a matchup against the No. 5 seed Michigan Wolverines in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Very proud of my team. We played Auburn basketball,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said postgame. “We played, acted and prepared like the No. 1 team in the country.”

Here’s an overview of the Wolverines season and how they got here:

The season so far

In the head coach Dusty May’s first season at Michigan, the Wolverines finished with a 27-9 record overall and ranked third in the Big 10.

The Wolverines ended the year with a 14-6 conference record and won the 2025 Big 10 tournament championship.

Michigan, which is heading to the second weekend of March Madness for the first time since 2022, ranked 19th in the NCAA’s Net rankings after ending the season 13-7 in Quad I games.

Players to watch

All-Big Ten second-team selection Vladislav Goldin followed May from Florida Atlantic to Michigan. He averaged a team-high 16.6 points per game, shooting 62.1% from the floor.

Goldin scored a career high 23 points in the Wolverines 91-79 victory over Texas A&M in the second round. However, Roddy Gayle Jr. came off the bench, scoring 26 points.

Danny Wolf is Michigan’s second leading scorer averaging 13.0 points and 9.9 rebounds. Wolf was a part of the Yale team that eliminated Auburn in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Michigan also has former Auburn guard Tre Donaldson, who is averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 4.2 assists.

Keys to the game

Have to shut down the Michigan frontcourt

Michigan outrebounded Texas A&M 48-39 and scored 42 points from inside the paint cutting its double-digit deficit against the Aggies.

Led by Goldin and Wolf down low, the Wolverines will run its offense through them if outside shots are not connecting. Michigan shot 27% from 3-point territory against the Aggies and connected on just 28 field goals as a team.

The Wolverines ranked 50th in the country in rebounds per game this season. Auburn will need big performances from all three key Bigs in the Tigers rotation.

Auburn’s defense has to bring the intensity early

Creighton torched Auburn drilling nine 3-pointers in the first half of Saturday’s second round game. In the second half, Creighton hit just three 3-pointers shooting 23% in that half.

Despite defeating the Blue Jays by 12 points, Auburn could have won by a lot more if they played with the physicality they lacked in the first half.

As hot as the Wolverines are right now, a slow start for Auburn could see their championship aspirations go away.

Auburn and Michigan will square off next Friday for a spot in the Elite 8 round.

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected].