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ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Tony Bennett's team passed all its tests in the opening month of the season.
Jayden Gardner made a go-ahead jumper with 39.9 seconds left and blocked Jett Howard's 3-point shot just before the buzzer, allowing No. 3 Virginia to stay undefeated with a 70-68 win over Michigan in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night.
The Cavaliers (6-0) won their first true road game against a team that was ranked in the first two polls this season, a little more than a week after beating then-No. 5 Baylor and then-No. 19 Illinois in Las Vegas.
"It got pretty intense in here," Bennett said.
Virginia trailed by 11 points at halftime, rallied to go ahead with 7:25 left and built a five-point lead that didn't last.
The Wolverines (5-2) went ahead 66-65 at the 1:42 mark when Hunter Dickinson made one of two free throws.
Michigan missed chances to stay or go ahead when Dickinson missed a hook shot with 1:01 to go and Princeton transfer Jaelin Llewellyn turned the ball over with 16 seconds left.
"Hunter has made that running hook before," coach Juwan Howard said. "The turnover, yes, down the stretch, it hurt, but overall that's not the reason we lost the ballgame.
"We could've easily put our heads down when they came out in the second half and made a run."
Reece Beekman, who finished with 18 points, stepped in front of Llewellyn's pass in the final minute and made one of two free throws.
Virginia's Armaan Franklin missed two free throws with 5.7 seconds left, giving Michigan a chance to extend or win the game. Howard took a contested shot beyond the 3-point arc on the right wing -- near his father, Michigan's coach -- and Gardner came up with the block against the freshman guard while Wolverines coaches and players screamed for a foul call.
It appeared that Gardner got all ball on the block.
Kihei Clark scored 16 points, Gardner had 12, Kadin Shedrick fouled out with 12 points and Ben Vander Plas added 10 for the balanced Cavaliers.
"You need different guys, and that's what it takes, to make plays offensively and defensively," Bennett said.