DENVER — The Wolverines are marching into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Vlad Goldin and Roddy Gayle Jr. made sure of it.

Thanks to a game-changing 20-5 run fueled by Goldin and Gayle, No. 5 seed Michigan stormed back from a 10-point second-half deficit and surged past No. 4 seed Texas A&M, 91-79, in Saturday’s second-round game at Ball Arena.

Gayle scored a season-high 26 points, Goldin had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Danny Wolf added 14 points to send Michigan (27-9) into the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in nine seasons.

Michigan will face the winner of top-seeded Auburn and No. 9 seed Creighton on Friday at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Game time is TBA.

Following a first half where neither team shot particularly well nor led by more than six, Michigan started to fall behind and fell into a double-digit hole.

The Wolverines either passed up or couldn’t knock down good looks. A&M star guard Wade Taylor IV, who was in foul trouble and was scoreless in the first half, started to make his presence felt with driving layups on back-to-back possessions. The Aggies pulled ahead, 51-41, with 15:46 left.

Even when Michigan started making shots, Texas A&M — the top offensive-rebounding team in the nation — did what it does best. The Aggies often countered by cashing in on second-chance opportunities to push the margin back to double digits.

The Wolverines started to chip away behind their big men and freshman LJ Cason (11 points). During one sequence, Wolf converted a three-point play and Goldin swatted a shot that led to Cason drawing a foul on a fast break. Another strong take and finish by Cason preceded a blocked shot by Wolf that forced a shot-clock violation. Two free throws from Gayle made it a one-possession game, 63-61, with 10:18 to go.

Texas A&M pushed the lead back to six before Michigan surged ahead behind a 20-5 run spearheaded by Gayle and Goldin. Gayle made a second-chance 3-pointer and a driving layup to cut it to 67-66. Then after Taylor hit a momentum-crushing 3-pointer, Gayle swished another 3 and made two free throws to give Michigan a 71-70 lead with 6:08 to go.

Goldin capped a string of nine unanswered points with two baskets at the rim, coming after a Texas A&M turnover and two missed free throws, and scored eight straight points for Michigan. By the time Tre Donaldson capped the flurry with a shot in the paint, the Wolverines held an 81-72 lead with 3:43 to go.

Texas A&M made a push and used a string of six unanswered points to cut it to 82-79 with 1:29 remaining. Donaldson kept the Aggies at bay by flipping up a layup while falling to the court. That triggered a game-ending 9-0 run in the final minute where Michigan put the game out of reach at the free-throw line.

Pharrel Payne had 26 points, Taylor scored 14 and Andersson Garcia added 11 points for Texas A&M (23-11), which turned 15 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points.

The Wolverines and Aggies got off to a frantic start, with neither team shooting well from the field. Both sides missed 10 of their first 14 field-goal attempts, and most of the points in the early going were scored in the paint and around the rim.

Neither team made a 3-pointer until Cason drained one with 13:45 left in the first half. That came during an 8-1 spurt where Cason provided a spark by getting in the lane and breaking down Texas A&M’s defense. He dished assists to Wolf on back-to-back possessions for finishes at the rim to give Michigan a 17-11 lead.

The Aggies didn’t make their first long-range shot until Garcia connected on one at the 12:41 mark. That kick-started a 10-1 run for Texas A&M during which Michigan went five minutes without a made basket. Garcia made another deep ball to cap a possession where the Aggies grabbed two offensive boards and cashed in on the third-chance opportunity.

Texas A&M extended the margin by feeding Payne, who was a handful in the post. He scored eight straight points for the Aggies to make it 29-23 during a stretch where star guard Wade Taylor IV picked up his second foul and sat for a long stretch.

The Wolverines fought back and regained the lead. Rubin Jones swished a corner 3. Wolf got in the paint and found a cutting Gayle, who threw down a two-handed jam over a defender. Gayle followed that up with a 3-pointer.

Michigan pulled ahead by one before it missed its final seven shots, including three layups, during a rough close to the half and entered the break with a 39-35 deficit.

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