LAS VEGAS, NV — Taking on No. 4 Michigan in the Roman Main Event title game, Arizona Basketball (5-0, 0-0) came ready to play in their 80-62 win.
Arizona Basketball only shot 4-21 (19 percent) from three and was outshot 22-12 from the free-throw line, but it didn’t matter as the Wildcats dominated No. 4 Michigan in Las Vegas.
Coming in, the Wildcats were fresh off a win over Wichita State in which they nearly blew a 16-point lead, but this time, they were going to have an even bigger challenge against the Wolverines.
However, unlike Friday evening, the Wildcats dominated from start to finish in the Romain Main Event finale held in T-Mobile Arena.
Going back and forth for the first 13 minutes of the game, Arizona and Michigan brought the intensity as things would be knotted at 21-21 with 7:12 to play.
However, that’s the last time things would be this close as the Wildcats would take over to close out the first half, ending things on a 16-8 run to lead 37-29 at the break.
Using stifling defense that turned into transition offense, Arizona Basketball would wear down No. 4 Michigan in the second half en route to the 80-62 win.
Leading by eight, Arizona would open the second half by outscoring Michigan 19-11 in the first five minutes of play to take the lead at 56-40, and the offensive barrage didn’t seem to stop either.
The Wildcats would continue to attack the post and crash the glass hard, using their superior length and athleticism to wear down the Wolverines as they would eventually push their lead to 20 with 5:57 to play as a Christian Koloko dunk would make it 70-50.
And unlike Friday evening, the Wildcats wouldn’t let up either as they continued to stifle the Wolverines and hung on for the 18-point win.
Koloko would finish his evening with an impressive 22 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks. He would lead all scorers! Ben Mathurin would add 16 points and five rebounds as well, while Dalen Terry had an impressive evening, scoring 13 points, grabbing five rebounds, and dishing five assists.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 5-0 and will return to action on Saturday against Sacramento State.
Here are highlights from the Wildcats’ dominant win!