In the entertainment capital of the world, Moussa Diabaté put on quite the show.
The Michigan freshman stuffed the stat sheet off the bench to fuel a 74-61 win over UNLV in the Roman Main Event in Las Vegas on Friday night/Saturday morning. The Wolverines will play 4-0 Arizona on Sunday for the championship (9:30 p.m. ET).
Michigan (3-1) led most of the game but had to fight off a feisty UNLV team playing in its home city. Eli Brooks’ hot shooting propelled the fifth-year senior guard to a game-high 22 points for Michigan, which shot 51 percent from the field.
Michigan used a 7-0 spurt over a 90-second stretch to take a 54-45 lead with 12:39 left. UNLV, which only scored one basket in the final three minutes, never got closer than six and fell to 3-1.
Diabaté finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and a steal over 21 minutes.
According to the ESPN broadcasters, Michigan fans were well represented inside T-Mobile Arena. Those watching the Roman-sponsored event at home could be excused for not staying up. The game did not start until after 1 a.m. ET on Saturday, pushed back by Arizona’s overtime win, 82-78, over Wichita State in the first game of the night. The final buzzer on Michigan’s victory sounded at 2:50 a.m. ET.
Diabaté made it worthwhile with a highlight dunk, several impressive blocks, and an all-around strong performance. He’d scored 14 points in Michigan’s previous three games combined.
After missing his first four free throws, he sank two in the closing seconds that had Michigan bettors cheering given the 12.5 point spread. After all, Vegas is the gambling capital of the world, too.
Brooks, meanwhile, made four 3-pointers and tied the program record for career wins with 108. The other record holders — Brooks’ former teammates Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske — played four seasons, while Brooks took advantage of the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver to play a fifth year.
It was Brooks capped Michigan’s aforementioned 7-0 second-half run with his third 3 of the game. That score held until UNLV ended a four-minute scoring drought with 10:22 remaining. Diabaté followed with a basket off of his own miss and another rejection at the other end.
Brooks splashed a 3 to make it 63-51 with 6:27 to go. UNLV answered: A 3 and a long 2 from Donovan Williams bookended a Michigan turnover and cut the margin to seven.
Unlike on Tuesday, when Michigan lost at home to Seton Hall, the Wolverines finished strong.
Hunter Dickinson finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for Michigan. DeVante’ Jones tallied nine points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, though he also had five turnovers. Caleb Houstan shot just 1-for-8 and is 2-for-17 over his past two games.
UNLV closed the first half with a 9-0 run to cut the margin to three.
The pace was exciting early. Dickinson made a layup, a short jumper, and a long one for six of Michigan’s first eight points, then found a cutting Johns to give U-M a 10-9 lead. Brooks followed with a corner 3 off of a baseline out-of-bounds play.
A minute later, Diabaté provided the highlight of the night. He came up with a steal near the 3-point line, dribbled across the court, changing directions a couple of times before hammering a dunk over a defender. Michigan led 15-11 with 12:34 left in the half.
The Runnin’ Rebels were jumping too, blocking a couple of shots with authority and making some difficult shots at the other end. They couldn’t stop Diabaté though, who scored on baby hooks on consecutive possessions. A pair of Kobe Bufkin free throws made it 21-15.
Jones’ three-possession stretch put Michigan ahead 28-20 with 6:28 left in the half. He drove and bounced off a defender before sinking a fadeaway, hit a 3 after his defender went under the screen, and dished a pretty assist to Diabaté. Brooks, after a five-minute stretch on the bench, scored five straight to help Michigan take its largest lead of the half, 35-23, with 2:57 remaining.
The Wolverines didn’t score again before halftime — Jones committed two offensive fouls — and Bryce Hamilton’s last-second 3 gave him nine points and cut the margin to three.
Hamilton finished with 23 points, though he needed 21 shots to get there. UNLV will play Wichita State on Sunday in the consolation game.
