Minnesota can’t end dominant run by Michigan

Minnesota guard Andre Hollins (1) is fouled by Michigan forward Mitch McGary (4) as he tries to shoot in a crowd during the second half of Thursday’s game in Minneapolis. Michigan won 83-75.

Minnesota guard Andre Hollins (1) is fouled by Michigan forward Mitch McGary (4) as he tries to shoot in a crowd during the second half of Thursday’s game in Minneapolis. Michigan won 83-75.

Friday, January 18, 2013

— Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 21 points and Trey Burke had 18 points and nine assists to help No. 5 Michigan stave off No. 9 Minnesota 83-75 on Thursday night.

Hardaway hit four threepointers in the first half for the Wolverines (17-1, 4-1 Big Ten), who had the lead for the final 33 minutes and finished with 13 steals to fuel their fast break. Nik Stauskas added 11 points.

Austin Hollins led the Gophers (15-3, 3-2) with 21 points and four steals, and Trevor Mbakwe had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. Andre Hollins was drawn into early foul trouble, but he finished with 13 points and four assists.

The Gophers crept back in the game after falling behind by 19 points early in the second half but squandered some opportunities to really make the Wolverines worry. Joe Coleman missed 3 of 4 free throws in the final four minutes.

After Rodney Williams cut the margin to 77-70 with 2:40 remaining, the Gophers got the ball back but Williams had an open three-pointer rim out and Andre Hollins had his putback attempt blocked underneath.

Burke stretched the lead to nine with two free throws with 43 seconds left, effectively sealing the victory for the Wolverines.

Michigan moved into a four-way tie for second place in the stacked Big Ten behind surprisingly unbeaten Wisconsin. Minnesota lost its second consecutive game after falling 88-81 at Indiana last Saturday. The Wolverines have beaten the Gophers in eight of their past nine meetings.

Michigan Coach John Beilein and Minnesota Coach Tubby Smith are both in their sixth seasons at these schools, trying to revive programs that have been conference powers in the past but lagged through the past decade.

In other games involving top 25 teams, Reggie Hearn scored 20 points and host Northwestern built an early lead using three-point shooting to hand No. 23 Illinois its third consecutive loss, 68-54. llinois has lost five of seven after starting 12-0. The Wildcats (11-7, 2-3) were 8 of 15 from three-point range but hit five of those shots in the first half to build a 36-21 lead. The cold-shooting Illini (14-5, 1-4) closed within 48-39 on a free throw by Brandon Paul with 4:36 to play. Illinois would get no closer. ... Shabazz Muhammad scored 21 points, Kyle Anderson added 17 and No. 24 UCLA defeated Oregon State 74-64 in Los Angeles, the Bruins’ 10th consecutive victory. Travis Wear added 17 points for the Bruins (15-3, 5-0), who equaled their longest winning streak since the 2008-2009 season. They have won 23 of the past 24 games played against Oregon State on their home court. Roberto Nelson scored 17 points and Joe Burton added 12 points for the Beavers (10-7, 0-4). ... Seth Curry scored 24 points to lead No. 3 Duke past Georgia Tech 73-57 in Durham, N.C. Mason Plumlee added 16 points and 13 rebounds after going just 2 for 12 during an awful first half, and the Blue Devils (16-1, 3-1) shot 53 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes to bounce back from their only loss. Freshman Chris Bolden’s 20 points were the most scored by a Georgia Tech player this season. But the Yellow Jackets (10-6, 0-4) had 21 turnovers in losing their fourth in a row, remaining the only team winless in Atlantic Coast Conference play and falling to 5-32 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. ... Treveon Graham scored six of his 25 points in overtime and No. 22 Virginia Commonwealth rallied late in regulation to tie it and then beat Saint Joseph’s 92-86 in Richmond, Va. Darius Theus added a career-high 22 points, 10 assists and 4 steals for the Rams (15-3, 3-0), who won their 12th consecutive. Juvonte Reddic added 15 points and 17 rebounds. Langston Galloway had 22 points , Carl Jones 21 and C.J. Aiken 15 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks (9-6, 1-2), who trailed for most of the game before a loud sellout crowd at the

Siegel Center.

Sports, Pages 22 on 01/18/2013