If you want to bet on the Michigan Wolverines to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, you can get plus odds when you do so.
Right after Michigan’s nerve-wracking 68-65 victory over the UC San Diego Tritons, the Wolverines opened as a 1.5-point underdog against 4-seed Texas A&M in the Round of 32. If you bet Michigan moneyline on FanDuel, you can get +104 odds.
The Aggies are ranked 17th in KenPom, with quality wins over Auburn and Texas Tech on its resume. Texas A&M won its Round of 64 game over 13-seed Yale, 80-71.
The Wolverines are going to have to make sure they box out when shots go up in this one. Texas A&M leads the country in offensive rebounding percentage (41.7 percent). The backcourt of Wade Taylor IV — the school’s all-time leading scorer — and Zhuric Phelps combine to average nearly 30 points per game, but the Aggies struggle from beyond the arc, making only 30.8 percent of their threes (325th in the country).
In order to win this game, Michigan needs to take care of the ball better than it did against the Tritons and create better looks offensively. Michigan will have a size advantage yet again, and another stellar defensive performance could lead to a Sweet Sixteen appearance for the Wolverines. But 14 turnovers and nine misses from the free throw like we saw in Thursday night’s win could be lethal mistakes on Saturday.
Michigan and Texas A&M will square off at 5:15 p.m. on CBS on Saturday. For those looking to get a Michigan basketball fix before then, Michigan’s women’s team, a 6-seed, plays at 11:30 a.m. Friday against 11-seed Iowa State. In that game, the Wolverines are favored by 2.5 points.
Stay with Maize n Brew for NCAA tournament coverage for both the men’s and women’s teams throughout the rest of March Madness.
