Ags, Bulldogs, Wolverines & Tritons will battle in the Mile High City

Press conference videos courtesy of the NCAA

Teams: No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Michigan, No. 12 UC San Diego, No. 13 Yale
Time/Date:

• Thursday – Texas A&M vs. Yale (6:25 p.m. CT)
• Thursday – Michigan vs. UC San Diego (9 p.m. CT)
• Saturday – TBA

Game Location: Ball Arena – Denver, Colorado
Winner Advances: Sweet 16 – Atlanta, Georgia

What the Oddsmakers Think

Texas A&M (-7.5) vs. Yale
Michigan (-2.5) vs. UC San Diego

Odds to Advance to the Sweet 16 (DraftKings)
Texas A&M: +120 (bet $10 to win $12)
Michigan: +190 (bet $10 to win $19)
UC San Diego: +390 (bet $10 to win $39)
Yale: +600 (bet $10 to win $60)

KenPom Win Probabilities
Texas A&M (78%) to beat Yale
Michigan (59%) to beat UC San Diego

KenPom Projected Scores
Texas A&M 75, Yale 67
Michigan 72, UC San Diego 69

This Denver pod is one of the most intriguing pods in the country.

It is one of just two pods that features three conference tournament champions. From popular mid-major upset picks UC San Diego and Yale to inconsistent yet talented power conference juggernauts Texas A&M and Michigan, this group of four has all the makings of some instant classic games.

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Home of the NBA’s Nuggets and NHL’s Avalanche, Denver’s Ball Arena opened in 1999 and seats 19,520 for basketball.

The point spreads for both first-round games are the smallest for all No. 4 seed vs. No. 13 seed and No. 5 seed vs. No. 12 seed matchups this year. The odds of making it to the Sweet 16 are the closest of any pod across the country, and the storylines are plentiful.

Yale knocked off No. 4 seed Auburn last year but lost its best player, Danny Wolf, to Michigan. Auburn’s sixth man, Tre Donaldson, also transferred to Michigan after the upset loss. They’re both back in March Madness this year for the Wolverines, while Yale is looking for revenge against their former teammate.

Many experts wouldn’t be surprised to see the exact opposite second-round matchup between the Aggies and the Tritons. UC San Diego is the hottest team in the country, running through the Big West in just its fifth Division I season, while Texas A&M is just 2-5 in its last seven games but knocked off No. 1 Auburn just two weeks ago.

Nobody knows what will happen in Denver, but your bracket will probably be busted by this pod.

Let’s meet the teams in Denver from the South Region:

No. 4 Texas A&M (22-10, 11-7 SEC) - At-large bid

• NET Ranking: 18
• Quad 1 Record: 7-9
• KenPom Offensive Efficiency Rank: No. 44
• KenPom Defensive Efficiency Rank: No. 7
• Top Scorers: Wade Taylor IV (15.7 PPG), Zhuric Phelps (14.1), Pharrel Payne (9.4)
• Top Rebounders: Andersson Garcia (6.2 RPG), Henry Coleman III (5.6), Solomon Washington (5.2)

The Aggies finished as the No. 13 overall seed, just missing the final No. 3 seed by one spot to the Wisconsin Badgers. This is Texas A&M’s third-highest seed in program history, and history may be on the Maroon & White’s side once again. Every time A&M has earned a top-four seed, the Ags have made the Sweet 16. In 2007 and 2016, they reached the second weekend with a No. 3 seed nine years apart, and in 2025, they’ll look to reach that milestone again nine years after their last trip.

They’re led by first-team All-SEC guard Wade Taylor IV, the program’s all-time leading scorer, the SEC Tournament’s all-time leading scorer and the third Aggie ever to have their jersey hanging in the rafters of Reed Arena. Along with seven other seniors, Taylor & Co. will look to cap off their tenure in Aggieland with the one thing that’s alluded them for the last three seasons: NCAA Tournament success. With just one March Madness win during Buzz Williams’ last five seasons, this is the year where a breakthrough isn’t just a hope. It’s the expectation.

No. 5 Michigan (25-9, 14-6 Big Ten) - Big Ten Tournament Champions

• NET Ranking: 23
• Quad 1 Record: 12-7
• KenPom Offensive Efficiency Rank: No. 47
• KenPom Defensive Efficiency Rank: No. 14
• Top Scorers: Vladislav Goldin (16.7 PPG), Danny Wolf (13.1), Tre Donaldson (11.6)
• Top Rebounders: Danny Wolf (9.8 RPG), Vladislav Goldin (6.8), Roddy Gayle Jr. (3.6)

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Dusty May’s Wolverines were the last automatic-qualifier when they won the Big Ten Tournament championship on Sunday afternoon.​​​​​

After leading Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023, Dusty May returned to the Big Ten to turn around a Michigan program left in disarray by Juwan Howard. In his first season, May has the Wolverines back in the Big Dance and seemingly back on track after a difficult February and March.

Michigan had an up-and-down end to its regular season. The Maize and Blue lost their last three games to Illinois, Maryland and Michigan State before rattling off three straight wins in Indianapolis against Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin to win the Big Ten Tournament Title, their third title in the last eight seasons.

Led by the lethal two-big pick and roll of former Yale Bulldog Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin, who followed May from FAU, Michigan’s unique offensive style has been its biggest weapon this year. The fifth tallest team in the country is inside the top 15 in two-point percentage offensively and defensively, making the easy shots inside the arc while limiting their opponents from making those same easy shots. The Wolverines do have a tendency to get trigger-happy from deep, shooting 42.5 percent of their field goal attempts from 3-point range, and they are just below average nationally, making 33.4 percent of those treys.

With puzzling losses to Wake Forest, Arkansas and Minnesota, you never truly know which version of Michigan you’ll get.

No. 12 UC San Diego (30-4, 18-2 Big West) - Big West Tournament Champions

• NET Ranking: 35
• Quad 1 Record: 2-1
• KenPom Offensive Efficiency Rank: No. 57
• KenPom Defensive Efficiency Rank: No. 20
• Top Scorers: Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (19.5 PPG), Tyler McGhie (16.4), Hayden Gray (11.2)
• Top Rebounders: Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (5.5 RPG), Nordin Kapic (5.2), Milos Vicentic (5.0)

If you’re a real basketball junkie, then you know all about the Tritons.

In its first year of being eligible to compete in March Madness, UC San Diego ran through the Big West in just its fifth Division I season. The Tritons own the nation’s longest active winning streak at 15 games, lead the nation in turnover margin and score 39.9 percent of their points from behind the arc, which is top 15 in Division I.

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Two-time Big West Coach of the Year, Eric Olen has been UC San Diego’s head basketball coach since 2012. He owns a 240-118 career record.

Simply put, they are electric to watch.

UC San Diego’s two best 3-point shooters — Tyler McGhie (38.6 percent) and Hayden Gray (42.8 percent) — combine to take an average of 13 triples per game. But that’s not all. They have seven players who shoot better than 33 percent from deep. They take the sixth-highest percentage of 3-pointers in Division I, with 49.6 percent of their shots coming from behind the arc. Their entire identity is shooting threes, and they know they’re good at it. They turn the ball over just 13.4 percent of the time on offense, which is the seventh-best mark in the country, and force their opponents to turn the ball over 23.3 percent of the time, which is the second-best mark in the country.

Don’t be surprised if the Tritons shock the world and knock off the Big Ten champs. They’ll be a trendy upset pick to make the Sweet 16 with how they match up with the other teams in this pod.

No. 13 Yale (22-7, 13-1 Ivy League) - Ivy League Tournament Champions

• NET Ranking: 72
• Quad 1 Record: 0-1
• KenPom Offensive Efficiency Rank: No. 59
• KenPom Defensive Efficiency Rank: No. 117
• Top Scorers: John Poulakidas (19.2 PPG), Nick Townsend (15.4), Bez Mbeng (13.4)
• Top Rebounders: Nick Townsend (7.2 PPG), Bez Mbeng (5.5), Isaac Celiscar (5.1)

From one trendy upset pick to another, the Yale Bulldogs are primed to make more madness in March. They have just one loss in this calendar year, running through the Ivy League at 15-1 overall.

Just last seaon, they knocked off No. 4 seed Auburn thanks to 28 points from Poulakidas. Chad Baker-Mazara was ejected just three minutes into the game, and in a back-and-forth contest, the Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 27-16 in the final 10 minutes to steal a 78-76 win in Spokane.

Yale is experienced, returns five players from last season and has all the makings of another Cinderella story. Bez Mbeng — 2025 Ivy League Player of the Year and three-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year — leads the way in the backcourt, playing an average of 39 minutes per game over the last three weeks. The Bulldogs only roll seven deep, with key bench piece Yassine Gharram (6.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.5 APG) stepping away from the team in December to enter the Transfer Portal.

After playing back-to-back games in the Ivy League Tournament, the Bulldogs are traveling to the altitude on short rest to play one of the deepest teams in the country in Texas A&M. Still, Yale won’t be intimidated by an SEC foe. They have the defensive pieces to lock up Taylor and make the rebounding battle close by averaging 35.3 rebounds per game, which is No. 28 in the country.

Don’t overlook these nerds. They can hoop.