No. 3 Arizona plays host to Michigan

Dec 13, 2014 - 3:43 PM Tucson, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - The third-ranked Arizona Wildcats continue a five-game homestand on Saturday when they play host to the Michigan Wolverines in a non-conference matchup at the McKale Center.

Sean Miller's Wildcats are a perfect 9-0 on the season, with a Maui Invitational tournament title in tow. The team also has a marquee win over top-10 foe Gonzaga (66-63 OT) and is coming off an 87-56 blasting of Utah Valley last time out. The win over Utah Valley marked the 27th straight home victory for Arizona.

John Beilein's Wolverines began the season in the Top-25 and opened with four straight victories. However, the team has gone just 2-3 since and enters this contest off inexplicable back-to-back losses to NJIT (72-70) and Eastern Michigan (45-42).

This marks the 10th all-time meeting between these two storied programs. The Wildcats hold a 7-2 series advantage and have won two straight meetings, including a 72-70 decision in Ann Arbor last season.

The two losses to what looked like inferior foes coming in has to be reason for concern in Ann Arbor. To make matters worse, both losses came at the Crisler Center, a usual safe haven for the home team. In the loss to EMU last time out, Michigan simply could not get into an offensive rhythm, shooting an ugly 14-of-43 from the floor (.326) overall. Caris LeVert and Zak Irvin tallied 10 points each for Michigan, but received little help elsewhere.

The last two games have really taken a toll on Michigan's bottom line in terms of stats. The Wolverines come into this contest shooting a modest .444 from the field and are putting up 70.7 ppg. The team continues however, to do a good taking care of the ball (9.2 turnovers per game), and holds a +5.4 turnover margin as a result. LeVert is the straw that stirs the drink for Michigan, leading the team in scoring (17.7 ppg), rebounding (5.4 rpg), assists (4.1 apg) and steals (2.2 spg). Irvin (15.4 ppg) and Derrick Walton Jr. (12.1 ppg) provide scoring depth.

A deep scoring pool is something that Arizona is enjoying presently, as there is less than six points per game separating the top scorer and the No. 6 scorer on the roster. Overall, the Wildcats are generating 76.0 ppg and doing son on nearly 50 percent shooting (.498). Stanley Johnson has made an immediate impact as the freshman forward is averaging a team-best 13.8 ppg, while ranking second on the team with 6.4 rpg. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (12.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg) is superb coming off the bench. Brandon Ashley (11.6 ppg) is also posting a double-digit scoring average, while Gabe York (8.3 ppg), T.J. McConnell (8.0 ppg) and Kaleb Tarczewski (8.0 ppg) make contributions as well.

It was a balanced and potent attack that helped Arizona blow by Utah Valley last time out. The Wildcats shot a scorching .596 from the floor overall and had four players notch double figures in the win. Johnson led the way with 14 points. Dusan Ristic finished with 13, followed by Hollis-Jefferson and York, who tacked on 12 and 11 points, respectively.