For the second night in a row, Michigan basketball dominated a quality opponent like it was a low major, one of the teams you see near the bottom of the KenPom rankings.
Instead, after Michigan beat a top-50 team (San Diego State) on Monday, via KenPom, by 40 points, on Tuesday at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, the Wolverines similarly beat 21st-ranked Auburn, 102-72.
The Wolverines led by 28 points at half. Michigan led by over 30 at numerous points in the game against an Auburn team with a one-point loss to Houston as its only blemish prior to U-M.
Yaxel Lendeborg scored 17 points in 27 minues with three triples. He also had five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block. Morez Johnson and Nimari Burnett added 15, but Roddy Gayle stole the show with 17 points off the bench.
Michigan basketball made 14 3-pointers on its way to 100 points. The Wolverines owned the paint. They shot 80 percent at the free throw line and had six turnovers with two minutes left, well after the game was decided.
It's hard to complain about a single thing. That was an ass-kicking. Here are the gut reactions.
Michigan beat Auburn like a low-major
The Wolverines shot 69 percent from 2-point range, while Auburn shot 31 percent. Michigan pushed around the Tigers. The defense was suffocating. Michigan basketball out-rebounded Auburn 48-32 and for the second right in a now, the game was over by halftime.
Frankly, it was over 10 minutes in.
The Wolverines defense was tenacious
There aren't many other ways to say it, but Michigan's defense is championship-caliber. When the shots are falling -- when Yaxel Lendeborg and Trey McKenney are hitting three treys each, good luck.
Basically, the only shot teams have is if the Wolverines turn the ball over like crazy or shoot terribly from 3-point range.
Yet, with the ball movement we saw and the shooting, even from Roddy Gayle, who struggled a year ago, those nights will be rare.
Roddy Gayle is different player
It seems that Gayle has decided to be Texas A&M Roddy Gayle all the time. Yaxel was incredible. He was so smooth and looked like a lottery pick.
However, the guy who was maybe the most impressive was Gayle, just because he's giving Michigan something it didn't expect.
Gayle has always had this ability. He scored 13 points per game as a sophomore for Ohio State. On Tuesday, he was 6 of 16 from the field, but scored 16 and hit three triples. He was one of six different players with at least two assists. He was also a menace on defense.
The sky is the limit
They were saying on the TV broadcast that Michigan looked like a Final Four team. The Wolverines will play for the Players Festival championship on Wednesday. The game will be against Gonzaga or Tennessee.
It will be another challenge and championships aren't won in November, but this team is elite and every goal is on the table this season.