Pinkston hit a go-ahead basket with 16 seconds left and then blocked Zak Irvin at the other end as the 12th-ranked Wildcats defeated No. 19 Michigan 60-55 on Tuesday night in the Legends Classic championship game.
Pinkston, who was called for an offensive foul with 31 seconds remaining after powering into Derrick Walton on the right block a possession prior, barreled into a flopping Caris LeVert. Pinkston then went up and nailed the short jumper to give the Wildcats a 56-55 edge.
Michigan had seven seconds on the clock after Walton was stripped and Spike Albrecht fed a cutting Irvin down the paint. Pinkston met him at the rim and emphatically swatted his shot away.
Ryan Arcidiacono sunk a pair of foul shots with four ticks to play and Max Bielfeldt tossed the ensuing inbounds away. Arcidiacono then hit two more free throws to seal the outcome.
Dylan Ennis netted 15 points, while Pinkston finished with eight points and nine rebounds for Villanova (5-0), which outscored VCU by 22 points in the second half en route to a 77-53 win in the semifinals Monday.
LeVert posted 16 points, six boards and three steals and Irvin added 11 points for the Wolverines (4-1), who held off Oregon 70-63 Monday to reach the title game.
A LeVert 3-pointer staked Michigan to a 20-18 advantage with 7:17 left in the opening half, but the Wolverines were held without a point for the next 9:54 of game action.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, outscored them 15-0 during this stretch.
Villanova led 27-20 at the break and Pinkston's dunk made it 33-20 early in the second half.
The Wolverines proceeded to make seven of their next nine shots, and an Albrecht right wing triple put Michigan in front by a 39-38 count with 11:20 to play.
Michigan was up 51-43 before Villanova ripped off eight straight, with Ennis' left corner trey tying the game at 51-51 with 2:44 remaining.
A bit later, LeVert sandwiched jumpers around a Pinkston basket for a 55-54 Michigan spread with 58 ticks on the clock.
Notes: Both teams combined to shoot just two foul shots in the first half. Villanova missed both of its attempts ... Villanova shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the field, while Michigan finished 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the floor.
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