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Michigan vs. Texas A&M: Wolverines open as slight underdog in NCAA Tournament second round
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Michigan will face 4-seed Texas A&M (23-10) on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
At ESPN Bet, the Wolverines opened as a 1.5-point underdog against the Aggies. But that line quickly moved to 2.5 by Friday morning. The point total was set at 140.5. A money line bet on Michigan to advance to the Sweet 16 is priced at +125.
In the opening round, Texas A&M powered past 13-seed Yale, 80-71, behind a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double from Pharrel Payne. The Aggies never totally pulled away from the Ivy Leaguers, but they kept them at arm’s length throughout most of the game.
Michigan’s first-round matchup was a different story. The Wolverines beat trendy upset pick UC San Diego 68-65 on Thursday night. The Tritons had a shot to potentially tie the game and force overtime but missed a wing triple in the closing seconds. The Wolverines had a 14-point lead at the halftime break and scored just 27 points in the second half to let UC San Diego back into the game.
Michigan is 17-18 against the spread this season, but has been super streaky over the last 2 months. From Jan. 16 through Feb. 11, Michigan had 8 straight ATS defeats. U-M failed to cover the spread in 13 of its final 15 regular-season games.
But the Wolverines have won 4 straight since the start of the Big Ten Tournament and covered the spread in all 4 games. They were an underdog in all 3 games during the conference tournament en route to a Big Ten Tournament championship.
Texas A&M is 17-14-2 against the spread this season. The Aggies have covered in 3 of their last 4 games.
Overs are 18-17 in Michigan games this season and 14-19 in Texas A&M games.
Tipoff is set for 5:15 p.m. ET on CBS.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.