Michigan guard Rubin Jones, right, drives past Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV during the second half in the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament on Saturday in Denver. (AP photo)

DENVER — Michigan is going back to the Sweet 16 a year after a 24-loss season, using Roddy Gayle’s surge and a surprising advantage on the boards to trounce Texas A&M 91-79 on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament.

Gayle scored 21 of his season-high 26 points in the second half to help the restocked Wolverines overcome a 10-point deficit and advance to Atlanta to face Auburn in the South Region.

They got there by beating the Aggies at their own game.

No. 4 seed Texas A&M entered the day as the nation’s top offensive rebounding team, but the fifth-seeded Wolverines pulled down 16 offensive boards to the Aggies’ 15 and they outrebounded them 48-39 overall.

“Just a mindset,” said Michigan center Vladislav Goldin, who followed coach Dusty May over from FAU a year ago. “If we know what they do, we will have to adjust it and have the same physicality.”

Goldin had 23 points and 12 rebounds as Michigan (27-9) overcame another big day for Pharrel Payne. The big man led Texas A&M with 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting, but he was shut out after his basket put the Aggies ahead 65-61 with 9:59 left.

“It’s hard to shut someone down completely, and he’s obviously a great player,” Goldin said. “And we just decided we would have to make him finish tough shots, we would have to put (pressure) on him every single time and basically hope he’s going to miss because sometimes that’s all you can do.”

In two NCAA games at Ball Arena, Payne scored 51 points on 20-of-25 shooting and pulled down 15 rebounds. He had five boards on Saturday, including just one off the defensive glass.

The Wolverines, who made a surprising run to the Big Ten tournament title, won for the fifth time in nine days. The Aggies (23-11) were playing for just the second time in nine days, but they were the ones who looked exhausted at elevation by game’s end.

The Aggies missed eight of their last nine shots and the Wolverines closed on a 9-0 run after two free throws by Zhuric Phelps pulled Texas A&M to 82-79 with 1:29 remaining.

“It’s an amazing feeling, especially all that we’ve been through,” Gayle said. “I feel like we’re clicking at the right time, especially how we were able to finish the Big Ten Tournament. I just feel like we have a great team chemistry right now.”