Over two days in Las Vegas, Michigan basketball has pummeled both San Diego State and Auburn by 70 points. That is the largest combined margin of victory in the entire tournament. Auburn was probably feeling good about itself after taking Houston to the brink on Monday, while the Aztecs bounced back with a credible vanquishing of Big Ten foe Oregon on Tuesday. Here are some of the takeaways from the lopsided win.
1. The 30 point win is the largest over a 2025 final four team this season
So far, Auburn has lost twice, Houston got upset by Tennessee, and Florida lost to Arizona on opening night. Duke is the only one still standing who is undefeated throughout the first month of play. Michigan basketball has been the one that looks like a Final Four contender in two blowout wins in Las Vegas. Last night, it was complete domination in the paint; on Tuesday, it was 29-3 in fastbreak points, in favor of the Wolverines.
2. Michigan scored 6 points less in the first half then they totaled in the sweet 16 loss alone
It took Michigan 39 minutes to reach the 59 point mark in last season's sweet 16 loss to these same Tigers. They matched that feat in the first 20 minutes of play. There was no player of the year candidate like Johni Broome to save the Tigers this time. Auburn accounted for 15 assists in March, but only had three on Tuesday, compared to Michigan's 19. Michigan had about 20 more rebounds then they did in the first meeting and shot over 50% for the second time in as many nights.
Yeah… Michigan and Purdue reside on their own tier in the Big Ten, with Michigan State and maybe Illinois knocking on that door.
— College Hoops Database (@CollegeHoopsTIk) November 26, 2025
But right now, it’s Purdue and Michigan as my overwhelming favorites.
3. 102 points is the most in a tournament setting since 2015
Thanksgiving week of 2015 saw the Wolverines lose to UConn in the Battle 4 Atlantis opener. The next night, they obliterated Charlotte by scoring 102 points. They went on to win one more game over Texas for a fifth-place finish in the holiday event. This time, they get to play for a championship in a wacky format that is being protested by teams like Iowa State, Tennessee, and Kansas, two of which have zero losses and are not playing to cut down the nets.