Tim Hardaway Jr.’s dad never heard cheers at the Garden like this.
The son of the former star NBA guard, a villain in these parts during the ultra-intense Knicks-Heat rivalry of the late 1990s, came alive in the second half as No. 4-ranked Michigan rallied past Pittsburgh, 67-62, Wednesday night in the Preseason NIT semifinals.
“I heard some boos when my name was [first announced],” Hardaway Jr. said with a smile. “It was good to have an opportunity to play in Madison Square Garden. It was a blessing.”
The Wolverines (4-0) will meet Kansas State, a 66-63 winner over Delaware, in Friday’s championship game at 4:30 p.m.
In a game-changing 20-6 run, Hardaway scored 11 of his 16 points as the pro-Michigan crowd exploded, turning a five-point deficit into a nine-point lead late in the second half. He sank deep jump shots and got inside for easy baskets, shaking off a slow start.
“He’s worked so hard on being more than just a shooter,” Michigan coach John Beilein said.
Glenn Robinson III, another one of Michigan’s famous NBA sons, also was pivotal in the stretch with seven points and finished with 13 points. Trey Burke led all scorers with 17 for Michigan and added six assists.
The Wolverines’ defense, however, keyed the comeback as Michigan completely bottled up Pitt (4-1) in the second half. The Panthers got within three with 30.6 seconds left, but Robinson, Nik Stauskas and Burke iced it by going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
“We live for moments like this as basketball players, on a big stage like this against a good team like Pitt,” Stauskas said.
Michigan entered the season with high expectations, its highest since the days of the Fab Five in the ’90s. It had the high ranking along with the big NBA last names. The Wolverines have gotten off to the start they hoped, winning their first three home contests by wide margins and have now ousted a solid Big East team like Pittsburgh.
“We just came out of halftime with a different attitude,” Burke said. “We pretty much knew what we needed to fix and we knew the adjustments we needed to make.”
Kansas State 66, Delaware 63
* In the opener, Will Spradling (12 points, seven assists) sank four clutch free throws in the final 24 seconds for Kansas State (5-0). Devon Saddler led Delaware (2-2) with 32 points.