Michigan rides dominant first half to blowout win over Auburn in Vegas

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Nov 25, 2025

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LAS VEGAS — The Wolverines wanted it all.

A shot at a bigger NIL payday and a tournament title. Revenge for last season’s Sweet 16 loss. Their first win over a ranked opponent this season.

No. 7 Michigan got it all against No. 21 Auburn by riding a dominant first half to a 102-72 blowout win at the Players Era on Tuesday at Michelob Ultra Arena.

Yaxel Lendeborg and Roddy Gayle Jr. scored 17 each and Morez Johnson Jr. added 15 points for Michigan (6-0), which shot 51.5% from the field and led by 20-plus points over the final 24 minutes.

After finishing the first half with a flourish and leading by 28 at halftime, the Wolverines kept pushing and used a 3-point barrage to add even more separation.

Nimari Burnett (15 points) made the extra pass and swung it to an open Gayle in the corner. Lendeborg canned a 3-pointer from the wing and found Gayle in transition for another 3. Three deep balls in the span of three possessions put Michigan up 72-42 less than four minutes out of the break.

Even though Auburn had more success on offense in the second half, it couldn’t slow Michigan’s offense and never came close to putting a significant dent in the overwhelming deficit.

Another string of 3-pointers — two by L.J. Cason (10 points) and one by Gayle in a three-minute stretch — gave the Wolverines an 85-52 advantage and put the game well out of reach with 9:26 to go.

Michigan took its largest lead after it emptied its bench down the stretch. Oscar Goodman threw down a dunk over an Auburn defender and Winters Grady hit a corner 3 to make it 100-65 with 2:39 to go.

Michigan beat San Diego State, 94-54, in Monday’s tournament opener. Michigan’s third and final opponent in Wednesday’s Players Era title game is to be determined, with all 18 teams being seeded based on tournament records, scoring margin and other competitive metrics like points scored.

Tahaad Pettiford scored 16 and Keyshawn Hall 15 for Auburn (5-2), which was outscored 38-20 in the paint, missed 15 free throws and shot 35.5% from the floor.

For the second straight game in Las Vegas, the Wolverines got off to a strong start as they ripped off a 16-2 run with plenty of guys chipping in and jumped out to a double-digit lead early in the first half.

Burnett canned a corner 3-pointer in transition. Johnson scored an and-1 bucket at the rim off a feed from Aday Mara. Elliot Cadeau won the race to a long rebound off a missed 3-pointer, pitched it to Johnson while colliding with an Auburn player and Johnson threw it ahead to Burnett for a fast-break dunk to cap a string of 11 unanswered points.

Johnson added another and-1 layup during the flurry but missed the free throw. Gayle came away with the offensive rebound and promptly found Johnson for a second-chance dunk as Michigan grabbed a 16-4 lead five minutes into the game.

Auburn missed its first eight shots from the field before Pettiford snapped the drought with a 3-pointer at the 14:50 mark. The Tigers splashed another deep ball on their next possession to quickly cut the deficit in half.

The Wolverines stretched the lead back to double figures — even after Cadeau and Mara picked up two fouls apiece and headed to the bench — by closing the first half on a 31-11 run over the final nine minutes.

Lendeborg and Trey McKenney drained 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions during a string of eight unanswered points that made it a 16-point game.

Then during a string of 12 straight points, Lendeborg intercepted a pass that led to a fast-break layup for Cason the other way. McKenney knocked down another deep ball. Lendeborg drove into the lane, spun around a defender and finished an and-1 layup. The Wolverines doubled up the Tigers, 48-24, with 3:22 left in the half.

Michigan led by as much as 29 down the stretch before Cason won a scramble for an offensive rebound and beat the buzzer with a layup to make it 59-31 at the break.