In the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament, the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines came away victorious, defeating the Kansas State Wildcats, 71-57. The Wolverines improved to 5-0 with the victory, while K-State was handed its first loss of the season.
The tournament's Most Outstanding Player award was given to Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr. after the junior guard finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in the championship game. He led the team in scoring, while Trey Burkeand Nik Stauskas each added 10 points to the Wolverines total.
With less than a minute remaining in the first half, the Wildcats trailed the Wolverines by only three points. However, the Michigan defense held the opposition scoreless for a near-five minute span as the Wolverines built a 13-point lead. K-State was unable to dig out of the hole for the remainder of the game and never cut the lead to single digits in the second half.
Michigan will next host North Carolina State on Tuesday, while K-State will play USC Upstate on Dec. 2.
This story originally appeared at SB Nation.