Michigan basketball fans had to be feeling pessimistic in the second half of the Wolverines' NCAA tournament game against Texas A&M.
It felt like every shot was falling for Texas A&M or that every miss wound up in the hands of the Aggies. Twice the Wolverines were down by eight points or more (as many as 10).
There were two separate runs, the second a 15-2 spurt sparked by Roddy Gayle, who scored 21 points in the second half, that allowed Michigan to outscore Texas A&M 41-19 down the stretch.
Everyone on the floor had a hand in it. Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf combined for 37 points. Gayle was incredble. Rubin Jones hit some big shots, was incredible on defense and rebounded the hell out of the ball.
L.J. Cason provided a spark and even Will Tschetter drew a 3-shot foul when it was crisis time. Nimari Burnett and Jones helped anchor a defense, along with the bigs inside, that allowed just 1.04 points per possession.
For Dusty May, it was another defining win. He's taken two programs to the Sweet 16 and here are five things we learned from the 91-79 triumph for the Maize and Blue.
Roddy Gayle has that DAWG in him
This 26-point game came out of nowhere, at least in the sense that Gayle averaged 13.4 points per game for Ohio State last season.
The scoring average dropped down to nine points this season. He only made 20 percent of his 3-point opportunities this season, however, he made four on Saturday. Gayle also didn't miss from the free throw line.
This is the third double-digit game for him in the past five. He's had at least nine points in four of five games and shot at least 50 percent in four of five games.
Gayle has been trending in the right direction. He averaged 13.4 last season shooting 28 percent from 3-point range so if Gayle is shooting the ball well, he's a problem, especially with his ability to get the bucket as an 80-percent career free throw shooter.
Dusty May has proven himself again
Some Michigan basketball fans doubted May when he was hired. He silenced them pretty quickly but some of them popped up after the losing streak near the end of the season.
Even some Ohio State fans took shots. Some when May was hired. However, all of the critics are eating crow now.
May has won the Big Ten tournament championship, which will make sure a banner is hung this season, in addition to reaching the Sweet 16 with a second team. Not many head coaches have done that.
May has and it's a sign that he's one of the best in college basketball. If you didn't believe it before this weekend, you should. He's the second coming of John Beilein.
Defense is the reason Michigan is still dancing
When Wade Taylor buried that deep 3-pointer, it answered a Michigan run and felt like it could trigger a final run by Texas A&M to win the game.
Roddy Gayle had other ideas and connected on a huge 3-pointer, which sparked a 15-2 run by the Wolverines, with the most of the points scored by the Ohio State transfer.
Yet, the defense was the biggest reason for the final sprint to the finish line. Over the next 5:51 after Taylor's 3-pointer, the Aggies made just one field goal. It was similar to holding UC San Diego scoreless for the final 2:40 on Thursday night.
When the tough gets going, the defense has found a way to get stops consistently, just like against Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game.
Many players have stepped up. Tre Donaldson converted another huge bucket late. Area 50-1 dominated on both ends of the floor, but when you can string together stops when it counts, that's the recipe for a deep tournament run.
Michigan is nearly unbeatable when it wins the possession battle
We have all said this time and time again, but if Michigan doesn't turn it over and wins the rebounding battle, it's damn hard to beat.
Hell, if Michigan basketball limits the turnovers to under 10, it can hang with anyone. Against the best offensive-rebounding team in college basketball, the Wolverines had the edge with 15 compared to 14. U-M had 44 total rebounds compared to 36.
It won't be easy to duplicate that effort against Auburn, but if Michigan can beat A&M at its own game, it should be able to do that against just about anyone.
Area 50-1 is a force to be reckoned with
I said before the game that Michigan basketball needed more than 23 points from Goldin and Wolf. The Wolverines got it. The 7-foot tandem combined for 37 points, 23 rebounds, and six blocks.
Michigan wasn't going to advance with a mediocre effort from its twin towers, its two best players, and they delivered when everything was on the line, in a difficult matchup.
That's promising for the Sweet 16.