DENVER – Michigan basketball was rescued by a pair of unlikely heroes who took over against Texas A&M and sent the Wolverines to the Sweet 16.
The Wolverines have been doubted all postseason, winning three times in a row as underdogs against Purdue, Maryland, and Wisconsin to win the Big Ten Tournament. Then, they were the most popular upset pick in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against UC San Diego, and an underdog against Texas A&M.
Well, they went 5-0 in those games, and now Dusty May has a conference championship and a Sweet 16 under his belt in one season in Ann Arbor.
Michigan struggled in the first half, missing several layups and trailing 39-35 at the break.
The second half didn’t start out much better, as Texas A&M jumped out to a double-digit lead and held it for several minutes.
Then, true freshman L.J. Cason gave Michigan a huge spark, making some key free throws and a driving layup to get Michigan back within five. Cason finished with 11 points on just five shot attempts.
But the star of the show was Roddy Gayle, who struggled for most of the Big Ten season showed some life in Indianapolis last week.
Gayle hit two huge triples and went a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line in the second half to not only get Michigan back even, but jump out to a nine-point lead with under four minutes to play.
Gayle finished with 26 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
Michigan’s stars were also solid -- Vlad Goldin had 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Danny Wolf added 14 points, nine boards, and four assists. They each had three blocks.
But it was Cason who resurrected a Michigan offense that looked stagnant for the first 30 minutes, and it was Gayle who put the team on his back in the late moments.
Now Michigan will head to Atlanta to face Auburn, the top-ranked team in the entire tournament.
