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 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.