NO. 25 MICHIGAN 70, ILLINOIS 61: Tim Hardaway Jr. and Michigan hung on for another home victory, dealing yet another blow to Illinois’ fading NCAA Tournament hopes in the process.

Hardaway had 10 of his team-high 15 points in the first half for the Wolverines (19-7, 9-4 Big Ten), who moved within a half game of first-place Michigan State and Ohio State in the Big Ten standings.

Michigan improved to 14-0 at Crisler Center.

Illinois (16-9, 5-7 Big Ten) lost for the sixth time in seven games after starting Big Ten play 4-1. At 5-7 in the conference, the Illini are tied with Minnesota and Iowa for ninth place.

Trey Burke finished with 14 points, Evan Smotrcyz had 13 and Zack Novak added 12 points and nine rebounds for Michigan, which led 37-31 at the half.

The Wolverines opened the second half with a 16-8 run over the first 11 minutes to take a 14-point lead with 8:55 left. Illinois, led by Branon Paul’s game-high 21 points, got within seven points with five minutes left, but the Wolverines made 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

Tyler Griffey had 18 points off the bench and D.J. Richardson added 12 for the Illini, who haven’t won a road game since Jan. 4 at Northwestern, a stretch of four games.

Meyers Leonard, Illinois’ 7-foot-1 center who played with early foul trouble, had a game-high 12 rebounds.

Game Notebook: Smotcryz scored 10 or more points for just the second time in his last 13 games after finishing in double figures in eight of Michigan’s first 13. ... The Wolverines won back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 8-11. ... Illinois had won four of the previous five against Michigan. ... The Illini fell to 3-3 against ranked opponents.