L.J. Cason didn’t waste any time making something happen.

With Michigan and Texas A&M tied at 10 and both sides struggling to make shots in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament matchup, the freshman guard checked into the game, promptly buried a deep 3-pointer from the right wing and skipped back down the court with a smile on his face.

On Michigan’s next possession, Cason got the ball, raced the other way, dished an assist to big man Danny Wolf for a layup before Texas A&M’s defense could get set and let out a roar. Shortly after that, Cason attacked the paint again, drew multiple defenders and dumped off a pass to Wolf, who threw down a two-handed dunk.Just like that, Michigan scored on three consecutive possessions and grabbed a six-point lead in the span of 72 seconds.

“He’s a spark plug, he’s a microwave scorer off the bench, and he just exudes confidence,” Wolf said of Cason after Saturday’s 91-79 win at Ball Arena in Denver. “He came in and provided us with that jolt that we needed.”

That’s what Cason has done on multiple occasions this postseason, and his emergence has been vital for the Wolverines. There’s no telling if they’d win the Big Ten tournament title or reach the Sweet 16 without him.

Start with the latter. When Texas A&M came out of halftime strong and Michigan was scuffling, coach Dusty May inserted Cason and he quickly made his mark once again. Just 19 seconds into his shift, Cason lowered his shoulder, drove past one defender and knocked down a floater over another defender.

Then when the Aggies started to pull away and pushed their lead to 10, Cason helped reel them back in. He drew a foul on another strong take to the rim and made two free throws. On the next possession, Cason threw the ball over the top of Texas A&M’s three-quarter-court press to guard Roddy Gayle Jr., who knocked down an uncontested 3-pointer.

Cason continued to attack the basket in ways that his teammates were struggling to do against Texas A&M’s physical defense. His fearlessness drew fouls and helped put Michigan in the bonus with 11:15 remaining. The Wolverines took advantage and made 23 of 27 free throws in the second half.

“Every time I check in, the staff, including Coach May, they encourage me and tell me to be me,” Cason said.

“I’m at my best when I’m aggressive, whether I’m making plays for others, scoring, finishing around the rim. Just being an aggressive player is who I am.”

Cason’s last four points against Texas A&M came at the start of a 41-19 run over the final 13 minutes and before center Vlad Goldin and Gayle did much of the damage during the game-changing flurry.

But when asked what changed in the second half when trailing by double digits and what made the difference, May pointed to subbing in Cason.

“We were flat,” May said. “This was our fifth game in nine days. So I start thinking, ‘Man, do we have enough in the tank?’ … His energy, ability to get in the paint, decision-making was great. And that started the run.”

Cason provided a similar spark against Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament title game, a low-scoring matchup where baskets were hard to come by. When the Badgers started to create some separation after halftime, Cason was the one who kept the Wolverines in it.

He knocked down two 3-pointers — his first time making multiple 3s in a game since Nov. 27 — and that was Michigan’s only source of offense in the first seven minutes of the second half. After Wisconsin extended its lead to 11, Cason found forward Will Tschetter for a 3-pointer. That started a 7-0 spurt that Cason ended with two free throws after he grabbed a long rebound and was fouled on a fast-break layup attempt.

“L.J. was a lighter for us,” May said after the Wisconsin win. “The fire was kind of dim. I thought he poured some gas on that thing and got us going. … I saw the look in his teammates’ eyes when he started making some plays and that’s what we needed.”

May wishes he could’ve given Cason more reps, more minutes and more opportunity earlier in the season. But with Michigan in the thick of a Big Ten title chase and in so many close games, May opted to ride the veterans.

As a result, Cason’s playing time fluctuated, and he didn’t play in seven games. Through all the ups and downs — he had 12 points and made just three shots in 35 minutes across eight appearances from Jan. 4-Feb. 21 — Cason remained confident in practice and didn’t get discouraged.

“We know what his DNA is. We know his background. We know who he is to the core. We never lost faith,” said May, who credited Cason’s close circle for never pointing him “in a different direction” away from the team.

“It’s tough to be a freshman, especially at this level with the glut of older players. The one thing with L.J., he hit that freshman wall, and it looked gloomy. I’m not going to lie. He busted through that thing and found a new energy.”

Along the way, guards like Rubin Jones and Gayle have been there to support Cason and to offer him encouragement.

Gayle went through a similar experience his freshman year at Ohio State, when he wasn’t playing much early in the season. He advised Cason to keep his head down, stay focused and trust the process.

Jones, whose locker is next to Cason’s, noted it can be hard mentally when you’re playing some games and sitting others as a freshman. Jones told Cason to push through it and let him know that his time is going to come.

It just so happens to be in the postseason, where Cason is making an impact and playing the most important minutes of his young career.

“You can just see how mature he is for his age,” guard Nimari Burnett said. “He comes in there and is calm, but he’s also playing very hard. He’s communicating. He’s trying to find different ways to impact the game but doing it in a team aspect, and I love that.

“I think he’s one of the single most confident people I’ve ever met, and that’s what’s so special about him. To see him at a young age, literally only 18, to do it at the level he’s doing, he’s going to be very special. And he already is special now.”

Not to mention instrumental to Michigan’s postseason success.

From his season-high five assists against Purdue and eight-point, five-rebound effort against Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament to his 11-point outing against Texas A&M, Cason has provided a boost at every turn.

“That’s what L.J. does. He gets an opportunity and he’s going to try to make the most of it,” Jones said. “It’s always better to try to pull somebody back than to try to give somebody more energy. L.J. is somebody you’ve always got (to say), ‘All right, you can chill out a little bit.’

“He always has that fire in him. He’s always ready for the opportunity.”