Texas A&M men's basketball team loses to Michigan 91-79 in second round of March Madness

USA Today

23-03-2025

Texas A&M men's basketball team loses to Michigan 91-79 in second round of March Madness
4-seed Texas A&M's (23-11) 2024-2025 basketball season came to a disappointing end in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament against 5-seed Michigan in a game where the Aggies led by ten points early in the second half, only to be outscored 56-40 after halftime. Texas A&M lost 91-79 for a consecutive second-round exit in the tournament.
It is confusing why head coach Buzz Williams stopped feeding forward Pharrel Payne once the Wolverines hit their stride late in the second half. The junior finished with 26 points after scoring 25 in the opening-round win over Yale.
Defensively, Texas A&M's 3/4 press was overused, leading to Michigan gaining offensive momentum with its two bigs. Guard Roddy Gayle hit four 3-pointers amid his 26-point outing and second-half dominance, matching the Aggies shot for shot as the A&M's lead dwindled between four and two points before Michigan's game-sealing run. It's important to note that before his shooting performance on Saturday, Gayle had only hit three 3-pointers in his last 21 games.
In the final 13 minutes of the game, Texas A&M hit just six field goals and were held scoreless from the field for six minutes. Even worse, with 1:29 left, Michigan's nine-point lead was cut to three points after Aggies' senior guard Zhuric Phelps' free throws, leading to Andersson Garcia's almost-steal before Wolverines guard Tre Donaldson hit a tough layup on the other end.
Senior guard Wade Taylor IV's Texas A&M career ended with one of the worst shooting lines. He went 2-14 from beyond the arc against Yale and Michigan, and his one 3-pointer gave the Aggies their final 70-66 lead before the Wolverines took over.
For Texas A&M's eight seniors, ending their college careers with a loss is heart-crushing, especially for Wade Taylor, the program's all-time scoring leader who has never made it past the tournament's second round in four seasons. Buzz Williams' contract runs through the 2028 season, but another questionable early exit in March will certainly heat things up in the coming days.
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