Michigan chased most of the second half on Saturday, scoring 10 points on multiple occasions.
However, that was led when it was most important after garnering a victory from a 91-79 cam against No. 4 seed Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The fifth seed Wolverines took their first lead in the second half with a free throw from 71-70 backup guard Roddy Gale Jr. with 6:08 left. The shot helped the Aggies transfer momentum to Wolverine after controlling for much of the second half.
Despite the scoreless second half of All-Sec Guard Wade Taylor IV, the Aggies took a 39-35 lead. They expanded it to 60-50 with 13:17 left. However, Wolverine took the lead from there and ultimately gained control of the scoreboard with Gale’s free throw.
Michigan expanded its lead to 82-73 before thwarting the comeback of Texas A&M itself, securing a 12-point victory on one final burst. Gayle and the All-Big Ten Center Vladislav Goldin led the way.
Goldin controlled the Wolverines post, tallied team high 23 points and 11 rebounds, and hit multiple large buckets with stretches. He scored nine of the 23 points at the final 5:50 of the game.
Meanwhile, Gale led Wolverine 26 points off the bench, helping to trigger a Michigan rally with a 6-6 effort from a 3-point distance.
Gale’s efforts coincided with the efforts of Texas A&M bench hero Pharrell Payne. Payne, who averaged 9.9 points per game on Saturday, surpassed his previous career-high 25 sets on Thursday in a first-round victory over Texas A&M’s Yale.
But it wasn’t enough to overcome the inefficient filming night that ultimately destined Aggie. Texas A&M is 38% and 38% from the field, 35.9% from the free throw stripe, 69.2% and 25.9% from the state of Michigan, all the numbers claimed (43.1%, 27.3% and 80.6%).
Taylor’s struggle was on the verge of a 14-point tally from the first half of the scoreless. However, he was responsible for a quarter performance from many Texas A&M floors and one eight efforts from long distances.
Michigan will advance to Sweet 16 for the sixth in the last eight NCAA tournaments. One day later he became No. 1 seed Auburn, who defeated 9th seed Clayton 82-70.
