U-M to Battle No. 7 Seed Texas A&M for Spot in NCAA Elite Eight

» The Maize and Blue will be looking to advance to its third NCAA Elite Eight appearance in the last six years.
» The Wolverines advanced to the West Regional semifinal following a 61-47 win over No. 14 seed Montana and a thrilling last-second victory over No. 6-seed Houston.
» Michigan has won 11 straight games -- eight of which have come away from home.

NEXT GAME
Thursday, March 22 -- vs. #7 seed Texas A&M, 4:37 p.m. PDT (TBS)
Saturday, March 24 -- vs. #4 seed Gonzaga/#9 seed Florida State, TBD (TBS) -- if advance

The No. 3 seed University of Michigan men's basketball team (30-7, 13-5 B1G) will square off with seventh-seeded Texas A&M (22-12, 9-9 Big 12) on Thursday (March 22) in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 in Los Angeles, California, at the Staples Center. Tipoff is scheduled approximately 4:37 p.m. PDT (7:37 p.m. EDT), with the game broadcast on TBS.

A LOOK AT NO. 7 SEED TEXAS A&M
• Texas A&M comes to the West Regional with a 22-12 overall record and advanced out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament with a 73-69 win over No. 10 seed Providence and an 86-65 victory over No. 2 seed North Carolina.
• The Aggies are led by Tyler Davis, who averages 14.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Admon Gilder adds 12.4 points per game, D.J. Hogg chips in 11.2 points per game, Robert Williams scores 10.3 points per game and grabs a team-high 9.3 rebounds per game while T.J. Starks also scores in double figures at 10.1 points per contest.
• Texas A&M is ranked third in the nation in rebounds per game (41.7), fifth in blocks per contest (6.0) and 11th in defensive field goal percentage (40.1 percent).
• Michigan will be the second Big Ten opponent for Texas A&M this season. The Aggies defeated Penn State, 98-87, on Nov. 21 in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, New York.br /> • Billy Kennedy is in his seventh season as head coach at Texas A&M. Kennedy was the head coach at Murray State for five seasons (2006-11) before taking over in College Station.

A VICTORY WOULD MEAN
• With a win over No. 7 seed Texas A&M in the Sweet 16, the Wolverines would advance to the West Regional final. It would mark U-M's third Elite Eight appearance in the last six years.
• The Elite Eight game is scheduled for Saturday, March 24, and would pit U-M against the winner of No. 4 seed Gonzaga and No. 9 seed Florida State for a chance at the Final Four.

MICHIGAN IN THE 2018 NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Michigan advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 64-63 win over Houston in the second round. With U-M down by two, Jordan Poole made a long distance three-pointer as time expired to give the Wolverines the victory.
• Four Wolverines scored in double figures against Houston, led by 12 points each from Moritz Wagner and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. Charles Matthews and Duncan Robinson each added 11 points.
• Poole's buzzer-beater was Michigan's first win at the buzzer since March 11, 2016, when a Kameron Chatman three gave U-M a 72-69 win over Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
• The win gives Michigan its fourth Sweet 16 appearance in the last six years. Michigan is one of seven schools to have four Sweet 16 appearances since 2013, joining Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky and Wisconsin.
• Charles Matthews is leading Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, averaging a team-high 15.5 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game.
• Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman is also scoring in double figures in the NCAA Tournament at 11.5 points per game.
• In the first round, U-M overcame a slow start to earn a 61-47 victory over Montana as Charles Matthews scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 11 points.
• All 11 rebounds for Matthews came on the defensive end, the fourth most defensive rebounds by a Wolverine in a NCAA Tournament game. Loy Vaught holds the record with 16 defensive rebounds in the first round against Illinois State in 1990.
• The double-double for Matthews was his fourth of the season, he also recorded point/rebound double-doubles against Chaminade (Nov. 21) and Minnesota (Feb. 2) and had a point/assist double-double against UC Riverside (Nov. 26).
• Michigan has had a player record a double-double in the NCAA Tournament first round for two consecutive seasons. Last year, Derrick Walton Jr. scored 26 points with 11 assists against Oklahoma State in the first round (March 16, 2017).
• Matthews recorded the first point/rebound double-double by a Wolverine in the NCAA Tournament since Jordan Morgan posted 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Round of 32 in the 2014 Tournament (March 22, 2014).
• Michigan is 7-1 in opening tournament games under John Beilein, with the lone loss coming against Ohio in the first round in 2012. Since that 2012 game, U-M is 9-1 in the opening week of the NCAA Tournament.

MICHIGAN AT THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Michigan has been selected to its 28th (23rd*) NCAA Tournament.
• Michigan has a 56-26 (48-22*) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament.
• Michigan has made six (four*) national championship appearances -- 1965, 1976, 1989, 1992*, 1993*, 2013.
• Michigan is 1-5 (1-3*) all-time in the national title game.
• Michigan is 6-1 (4-1*) all-time in national semifinal games and owns the best winning percentage, .857, of any school to play in at least five games.
• Michigan won the program's first and only NCAA championship in 1989, following a dramatic 80-79 overtime win against Seton Hall when Rumeal Robinson made two free throws to secure the title. During the "Shock the World" run, Glen Rice set the NCAA Tournament record for most points in a single tournament with 184 (30.6 ppg).
• Michigan has seven (five*) Final Four appearances.
• Michigan has four national title game appearances under four different head coaches -- Dave Strack (1965 vs. UCLA); Johnny Orr (1976 vs. Indiana); Steve Fisher (1989 vs. Seton Hall; 1992 vs. Duke and 1993 vs. North Carolina) and John Beilein (2013, vs. Louisville).
• Michigan has 13 (12*) Elite Eight appearances.
• Michigan has 15 (14*) Sweet 16 appearances.
• Michigan has earned a No. 1 seeding on two occasions -- 1985 and 1993*.
• Michigan has earned a No. 2 seed on two occasions -- 1986 and 2014.