Should the NCAA transfer portal open before the end of March Madness?
Rick Pitino, John Calipari and even J.J. Watt sound off on the transfer portal opening during the NCAA Tournament.
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The Auburn Tigers and Michigan Wolverines will battle it out Friday as men’s March Madness continues for a chance to reach the Elite Eight in Atlanta.
The Tigers were ranked fourth in the KenPom Rankings, while the Wolverines were ranked 20th as of Wednesday. Auburn is the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and the SEC’s regular-season champion but face a hot team in Michigan, which earned a No. 5 seed.
The Wolverines are making their 19th Sweet 16 appearance, having reached the round in each of their last six NCAA appearances. It will be the first time Michigan has played NCAA Tournament games in Atlanta since their run to the 2013 Final Four.
Follow along live for bracket updates, scores, highlights and more from Friday’s action:
Auburn leads Michigan 70-60 with 1:45 left in the second half. Auburn is currently on a 31-12 scoring run. Auburn’s defense has come alive in the second half. Michigan had gone nearly six minutes during the second half with just a single field goal made.
Auburn’s duo of Tahaad Pettiford and Denver Jones have scored over 18 points each. It is the first time in Auburn’s tournament history that it has had three different players score 18 or more points.
Auburn has led by as many as 13 points tonight, while Michigan has led by as many as nine points tonight.
Johni Broome has a double-double with 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Tigers. It was Broome’s fourth game with a double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds) in the first half this season.
Danny Wolf has a team-high 20 points and six rebounds for Michigan in the second half. With six minutes left in the second half, Wolf was the only double-digit scorer for the Wolverines.
The winner of the Sweet 16 game between Auburn and Michigan will play Michigan State in the Elite Eight. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was spotted with Steve Smith in the crowd, watching the game.
Smith played for the Spartans (1987-91). He now works as a basketball analyst for Turner Sports.
The Spartans are 30-6 and were Big 10 regular-season champions.
- Guard Denver Jones
- Guard Miles Kelly
- Guard Chad Baker-Mazara
- Forward Johni Broome
- Center Dylan Cardwell
- Guard Rubin Jones
- Guard Nimari Burnett
- Forward Daniel Wolf
- Center Vladislav Goldin
What time is Auburn vs. Michigan basketball today?
March Madness continues Friday with the Sweet 16 matchup between the No. 1 seeded Auburn Tigers and the No. 5 seeded Michigan Wolverines. The action tips off at 9:39 p.m. ET
Where to watch Auburn vs. Michigan: TV, streaming coverage
- TV channel: CBS
- Live stream: Paramount+ and Fubo (Fubo offers a free trial subscription)
Men’s NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast across CBS, TBS, and TruTV channels. You can also watch Sweet 16 action via these streaming options: Max and Sling for games carried on TNT, TBS, TruTV. Games carried on CBS are available on Fubo, which offers a free trial subscription to new users.
Watch March Madness games on CBS with Fubo
The Auburn Tigers are favorites to beat the Michigan Wolverines, according to BetMGM odds as of Friday, March 28.
- Spread: Auburn (-8.5)
- Moneyline: Auburn (-425); Michigan(+325)
- O/U: 155.5
Two of our three experts are expecting Auburn to take care of business and advance to the Elite Eight. AZ Central’s Jeremy Cluff, however, is calling for Michigan to pull off the upset and for the game to go over the 153.5-point total. USA TODAY’s Craig Meyer and Auburn Wire’s Taylor Jones both have the Tigers covering the 8.5-point spread and are taking the under. — Nick Brinkerhoff
The Auburn Tigers and Michigan Wolverines have faced each other twice in their history and have split the series 1-1.
The Auburn Tigers have never won a national championship. They have reached as far as the Final Four in 2019. The program also claims two Elite Eight appearances (1986, 2019) and six Sweet 16 appearances.
The Michigan Wolverines boast one national championship, having won it all in 1989. They have appeared in the finals seven times and the Final Four eight times.
Odds to win the men’s NCAA national championship, according to BetMGM odds as of Friday, March 28. Here’s a full look at the favorites to win the men’s tournament:
- Duke (+180)
- Florida (+275)
- Houston (+550)
- Auburn (+575)
- Alabama (+1200)
- Tennessee (+2000)
- Texas Tech (+2200)
- Michigan State (+2500)
- Kentucky (+8000)
- Michigan (+9000)
- Ole Miss (+10000)
- Purdue (+12500)
This feels like the best chance to see the first all-No. 1 seed Final Four since 2008. However, while Duke rolled in its first two games, Auburn was tested by Creighton, Houston fought off a furious comeback by Gonzaga and Florida got all it could handle from Connecticut.
Three of the No. 1 seeds have shown cracks, and one of them ends up missing out in San Antonio: the top overall seed, Auburn. — Jordan Mendoza
USA TODAY experts set their picks ahead of the NCAA Tournament. Here is who they picked before the madness.
Jordan Mendoza
Full bracket
- Final Four: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
- Final: Florida vs. Houston
- National champion: Houston
Paul Myerberg
Full bracket
- Final Four: Auburn, St. John’s, Duke, Tennessee
- Final: Auburn vs. Duke
- National champion: Duke
Eddie Timanus
Full bracket
- Final Four: Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston
- Final: Florida vs. Duke
- National champion: Florida
Dan Wolken
Full bracket
- Final Four: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
- Final: Florida vs. Duke
- National champion: Duke
Here is your printable March Madness bracket.
All times Eastern
Tuesday, March 18
First Four games
Wednesday, March 19
First Four games
Thursday, March 20
Round of 64 games
- South region: No. 9 Creighton def. No. 8 Louisville, 89-75
- Midwest region: No. 4 Purdue def. No. 13 High Point, 75-63
- East region: No. 3 Wisconsin def. No. 14 Montana, 86-66
- Midwest region: No. 1 Houston def. No. 16 SIU-Edwardsville, 78-40
- South region: No. 1 Auburn def. No. 16 Alabama State, 83-63
- Midwest region: No. 12 McNeese State def. No. 5 Clemson, 69-67
- East region: No. 6 BYU def. No. 11 VCU, 80-71
- Midwest region: No. 8 Gonzaga def. No. 9 Georgia, 89-68
- Midwest region: No. 2 Tennessee def. No. 15 Wofford, 77-62
- West region: No. 10 Arkansas def. No. 7 Kansas, 79-72
- South region: No. 4 Texas A&M def. No. 13 Yale, 80-71
- West region: No. 11 Drake def. No. 6 Missouri, 67-57
- Midwest region: No. 7 UCLA def. No. 10 Utah State, 72-47
- West region: No. 2 St. John’s def. No. 15 Omaha, 83-53
- South region: No. 5 Michigan def. No. 12 UC San Diego, 68-65
- West region: No. 3 Texas Tech def. No. 14 UNC-Wilmington, 82-72
Friday March 21
Round of 64 games
- East region: No. 9 Baylor def. No. 8 Mississippi State, 75-72
- East region: No. 2 Alabama def. No. 15 Robert Morris, 90-81
- South region: No. 3 Iowa State def. No. 14 Lipscomb, 82-55
- West region: No. 12 Colorado State def. No. 5 Memphis, 78-70
- East region: No. 1 Duke def. No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s, 93-49
- East region: No. 7 Saint Mary’s def. No. 10 Vanderbilt, 59-56
- South region: No. 6 Ole Miss def. No. 11 North Carolina, 71-64
- West region: No. 4 Maryland def. No. 13 Grand Canyon, 81-49
- West region: No. 1 Florida def. No. 16 Norfolk State, 95-69
- Midwest region: No. 3 Kentucky def. No. 14 Troy, 76-57
- South region: No. 10 New Mexico def. No. 7 Marquette, 75-66
- East region: No. 4 Arizona def. No. 13 Akron, 93-65
- West region: No. 8 UConn def. No. 9 Oklahoma, 67-59
- Midwest region: No. 6 Illinois def. No. 11 Xavier, 86-73
- South region: No. 2 Michigan State def. No. 15 Bryant, 87-62
- East region: No. 5 Oregon def. No. 12 Liberty, 81-52
Saturday, March 22
Sunday, March 23
Thursday, March 27
East and West region Sweet 16 games, Time and TV channel TBD
Friday, March 28
Midwest and South region Sweet 16 games, Time and TV channel TBD
Saturday, March 29
- East and West region finals, Time and TV channel TBD
Sunday, March 30
- Midwest and South region finals, Time and TV channel TBD
Saturday, April 5
Final Four
- Game 1: 6:09 p.m. on CBS
- Game 2: 8:49 p.m. on CBS
Monday, April 7
- National championship game: 8:50 p.m. on CBS
On the men’s side, the Final Four is scheduled for Saturday, April 5. The NCAA championship game will take place two days later on Monday, April 7. All games will played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
For the women, the Final Four will be played on Friday, April 4 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The championship game will be Sunday at 3 p.m. at the same venue.
Here is the women’s schedule:
- First Four: March 19-20
- First round: March 21-22
- Second round: March 23-24
- Sweet 16: March 28-29
- Elite Eight: March 30-March 31
- Final Four: Friday, April 4, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, hosted at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Second game starts 30 minutes after first game ends.
- NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 6 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC, hosted at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
