Texas A&M Basketball: 3 takeaways from blowout loss to Michigan in Sweet 16

2. When you’re hot, you’re hot

Michigan hit 10 three-pointers … in the first half. Texas A&M’s turnover problems and lackadaisical defense did them no favors, but there wasn’t much that could be done when the Wolverines wouldn’t miss. On their way to a massive halftime advantage, Michigan shot a staggering 62.5 percent from three and 57.1 percent from the field.

For comparison, that’s would have been their best three-point shooting performance from three since March 4, 2014 against Illinois. It had been four years since Michigan had been that impressive from deep. Texas A&M was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Aggies stood by and watched the Wolverines roll out to a massive lead which grew to as many as 29 points. They fought to claw back in the second half, but the damage had already been done. When the final buzzer sounded, Michigan had connected on 14 three-pointers, second-most of any team in any game during the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Buffalo hit 15 when they upset Arizona. Michigan’s 99 points marked the second highest total of the tournament as well.

If not for a near-perfect game of their own, Texas A&M wouldn’t be in the Sweet 16 at all. The Aggies smothered North Carolina, answering ever Tarheel advance with a flurry of points of their own. They got a taste of their own medicine against Michigan, and it was decidedly bitter. The 27-point loss was the largest margin of defeat for Texas A&M in an NCAA Tournament game.