Michigan basketball has been one of the most impressive teams so far this college basketball season, and it has carried on that momentum into the Players Era Festival. The Wolverines have absolutely dominated the competition in Las Vegas during Feast Week, trouncing San Diego State 94-54 on Monday night before crushing No. 21 Auburn 102-72 on Tuesday.
The Tigers never were even competitive with Michigan on Tuesday in one of the most highly-anticipated games of the tournament. The Wolverines led by 28 points at halftime and coasted through the second half, as Auburn was never able to close the gap.
After the game, first-year Auburn head coach Steven Pearl summed up the Wolverines' performance accurately, via ESPN's Jeff Borzello.
“Sometimes you’re gonna run into a buzzsaw,” Pearl said.
Michigan struggled a bit to start the regular season as Dusty May and his staff worked to integrate a lot of new pieces into the flow on both sides of the ball, but it appears that the Wolverines have things clicking on all cylinders now. An overtime win against Wake Forest and a close win on the road against TCU got Michigan primed for this tournament, and it has arguably been the most impressive team so far in a field of elite programs.
Michigan will take on Gonzaga, who has also had a very impressive week, in the championship game on Wednesday night with $1 million in NIL money on the line.
May has a number of transfers doing the heavy lifting for this Michigan team. UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg, one of the best players in the portal this offseason, tied a team-high with 17 points in the win over Auburn while playing just 27 minutes. Illinois transfer Morez Johnson Jr. and UCLA transfer Aday Mara are also key parts of one of the biggest front courts in the country.
In the backcourt, North Carolina transfer Elliot Cadeau spearheads a guard room that also has returners Roddy Gayle Jr. and Nimari Burnett back in the fold. Gayle equaled Lendeborg's 17 points in the win on Tuesday.
Michigan will get some time off after the Players Era title game against Gonzaga before conference play gets underway on Dec. 6 against Rutgers.
