Michigan stumbled in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge in North Carolina

» Moussa Diabate earned his first collegiate start and scored the team’s top 13 points.
» Eli Brooks added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.
» Caleb Houstan grabbed seven boards to lead the Wolverines.

Website: Chapel Hill, NC (Roy Williams Court at the Dean E. Smith Center)
Event: The Big Ten / ACC Challenge
Score: North Carolina 72. # 24 Michigan 51
Records: UM (4-3), UNC (5-2)
Next UM event: Saturday, Dec. 4 – vs. San Diego State (Crisler Center), 1 p.m. (TV: CBS)

CHAPEL HILL, NC – The University of Michigan men’s basketball team, ranked 24th, dropped 72-51 to North Carolina in the Big Tenn / ACC Challenge on Wednesday night (December 1) at Roy Williams Court at the Dean E. Smith Center.

Freshman Moussa Diabate earned his first college start and went 5-5 off the field in the first half to make 11 of his team’s 13 points. Eli Brooks scored 11 points and added three assists, six rebounds and two assists. Freshman Caleb Houstan finished the UM scorers with eight points and collected a team record of seven rebounds.

Get off the bench, freshman Frankie Collins added four points and four rebounds, and Brandon Johns Jr. scored five points, two rebounds and two assists.

Diabate showed up early and made seven of the Wolverines ’first 12 points, with Michigan (4-3) finishing 13-12 after 11:09 in the first half. He continued the momentum of the UM attack, and Wolverines took the 21-18 lead in the media overtime with 5:45 left.

Michigan’s attack faltered in the final three minutes of the first half, with UNC (5-2) running 7-0 and leading to the locker room 29-27 during the halftime break.

Diabate led Michigan by 11 points in the first 20 minutes, while Houstan added eight points and five rebounds and Brooks scored six points, three rebounds and three assists.

Michigan was unable to form offensive runs, and Hunter Dickinson had to sit after two quick errors at the start of the second half, and Wolverines struggled in the goal. UM seemed to get something going on after Johns ’shot and three pointers, but North Carolina continued to accelerate the game and took a 51-38 advantage with 9:35 left in the match.

Tar Heels went on for a 20-5 run, leaving the game out of reach and Michigan was unable to create a continuous attack in the final minutes of the game.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will return to the Crisler Center to host the state of San Diego on Saturday (December 4) at 1 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on CBS.