Wolverines to Host No. 10 Oregon in Mid-December Battle

Saturday, December 14

Ann Arbor, Mich.

Noon

Michigan

Oregon

Wolverines to Host No. 10 Oregon in Mid-December Battle

12/12/2019 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Tom Wywrot

» No. 5-ranked Michigan ends its toughest non-conference stretch when it hosts No. 10 Oregon -- the Wolverines' fourth top-10 opponent in their last six games
» U-M's game with Oregon is part of a home-and-home series. The Maize and Blue will head to Eugene next December.
» Zavier Simpson is second nationally and leads the Big Ten with 8.6 assists per game. He has five or more assists in nine of U-M's 10 games, with three games of 10 or more.
» With 99 theee-pointers, Isaiah Livers needs just one more to become the 28th Wolverine to reach 100 in a career. He leads U-M in scoring (14.8) and three-pointers (26) having made at least one trey in every game this season.

PROMOTIONS
• Dec 14: Michigan Holiday Hat (First 1,000 kids, must be 6th grade and under), Santa photos on the concourse prior to the game
• Full Promotions Schedule

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team closes out its strongest stretch of non-conference games hosting No. 10 Oregon at Crisler Center on Saturday (Dec. 14). U-M's fourth game against a top-10 team is scheduled for a noon tipoff on CBS with Carter Blackburn (play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (analyst) as the broadcast crew.

Who are the Oregon Ducks?

• Oregon brings a 7-2 overall record to Ann Arbor after downing Hawaii, 89-64, at home last time out (Dec. 7). Both of Oregon's losses came in the Battle 4 Atlantis where the Ducks fell to Gonzaga, 73-72 in OT, in the semifinals and North Carolina, 78-74, in the third-place game.
• Three players score in double figures for Oregon, led by Payton Pritchard's 18.8 points per contest. Anthony Mathis adds 10.8 points per game and Chris Duarte is scoring 10.3.
• Oregon is shooting 40.4 percent from three-point range, second-best in the Pac-12 and 19th nationally. Will Richardson is shooting 62.5 percent from beyond the arc to lead the Ducks while Anthony Mathis has a team-high 24 made triples, shooting 51.1 percent (24-of-47).
• The Ducks lead the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 37.8 percent shooting, which ranks 32nd in the country.
• Dana Altman is in his 10th season as head coach at Oregon, having guided the Ducks to six NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2017 Final Four. Altman has previously been head coach at Marshall (1989-90), Kansas State (1990-94) and Creighton (1994-2010) and has recorded over 600 career victories.

The All-Time Series with the Oregon Ducks

• Michigan leads the all-time series against Oregon, 4-1.
• Saturday's contest will be Oregon's first trip to Ann Arbor and just the second on-campus meeting between the Wolverines and Ducks. U-M traveled to Eugene in the first meeting between the two schools, defeating Oregon, 81-71, on Dec. 21, 1955.
• In the last meeting, U-M lost to Oregon, 69-68, in the Sweet 16 of the 2017 NCAA Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, (March 23, 2017). Derrick Walton Jr. led the Maize and Blue with 20 points in that contest, Zak Irvin added 19 points. Tyler Dorsey scored a team-high 20 points for Oregon. Walton Jr. had a shot to win the game, but it went halfway down and out.
• The 2017 NCAA Tournament contest is one of two postseason meetings between the two schools. U-M and Oregon also met in the 2004 NIT when Michigan topped Oregon, 78-53, in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden (March 30, 2004).
• U-M and Oregon have met twice during in-season tournaments, a 93-85 Michigan victory on Dec. 29, 1971, at the Far West Classic in Portland, Oregon, and a 70-63 U-M win on Nov. 24, 2014, at the Progressive Legends Classic in Brooklyn, New York.

What's New

• Michigan and Oregon meet after almost playing each other at the Battle 4 Atlantis. In opposite brackets, the Wolverines advanced to the championship game, while the Ducks dropped a tough 73-72 overtime game to miss a title shot.
• U-M's game with Oregon is part of a home-and-home series. The Maize and Blue will head to Eugene next December.
• The Wolverines are in finals to end the fall semester. U-M concluded classes on Wednesday (Dec. 11). Exams conclude Friday, Dec. 20.
• Michigan is finishing its strongest non-conference stretch after having played seven games in the last 17 days with five on the road (two true), four against top-10 ranked programs including the nation's top team (No. 1 Louisville). So far, U-M is 4-2 during the stretch.
• With 99 three-pointers, Isaiah Livers needs just one more to become the 28th Wolverine to reach 100 in a career. He leads U-M in scoring (14.8) and three-pointers (26) having made at least one trey in every game this season.
• U-M's starting five -- Zavier Simpson, Eli Brooks, Franz Wagner, Isaiah Livers and Jon Teske has made up 73 percent of the scoring -- 574 of 785 points.

Check Out These Facts

• Zavier Simpson has not missed a game in four seasons -- a streak of 126 straight. If he keeps up this pace, Simpson could tie U-M's all-time mark against Wisconsin (Feb. 27) as former teammate Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman holds the top spot with 144 career games.
• Jon Teske has not missed a game in three seasons -- a streak of 88 straight and is expected to play in his 109th career game against No. 10 Oregon
• Adding his name to the list, Eli Brooks has not missed a game over his last 48 games.
• Simpson has vaulted himself up U-M's all-time leaderboard as he is fourth all-time with 517. He became the fourth Wolverine to reach the 500-assist mark joining UM greats Gary Grant (731), Rumeal Robinson (575) and Antoine Joubert (539).
• Simpson has five assists or more in nine of U-M's 10 games, with three games of 10 or more.
• Simpson has led U-M in assists in more than 50 percent of his career games -- 68 of 126 games.
• Jon Teske leads U-M with three double-doubles this season. He opened this year with 17 points and 13 boards against Appalachian State, earned that double-double with 6:22 left in the first half. He added a second vs. No. 8 Gonzaga (19 points, 14 rebounds) and a third at No. 1 Louisville (18 points, 10 rebounds).
• Teske has 5 or more rebounds in every game this season.
• Teske leads U-M with 23 blocks, nearly half of U-M's season total of 52.
• Isaiah Livers has posted at least one three-pointer in every game and leads U-M with 26
• In his career, Livers has 99 treys -- just one away from becoming the 28th Wolverine to reach 100 in a career.
• Livers leads U-M with 14.8 points per game, doubling his previous single season best of 7.9 (2018-19).
• With the five double-figure scoring games so far, Eli Brooks is averaging 11.7 points per game, almost five times better than any other previous season -- 2.5 (2018-19) and 1.8 (2017-18).

Big Sleep is Not Resting ... at All

• Jon Teske is averaging nearly a double-double with his 14.3 points and 9.0 rebounds.
• So far, Teske has recorded four 10+ rebounding games, including a career-best 15 vs. No. 8 Gonzaga (Battle 4 Atlantis), 13 against Appalachian State, 12 against Houston Baptist and 10 at No. 1 Louisville.
• In three of those four 10+ rebounding games, Teske has posted a double-double, increasing his career total to 13.
• Teske has scored in double figures in eight games including a season-high 19 points vs. No. 8 Gonzaga (Battle 4 Atlantis). Overall, he has seven games of 15+ points.
• In addition to his scoring, Teske has grabbed five rebounds or more in every game this season, including that career-best of 15 vs. No. 8 Gonzaga.
• On top of all that, Teske has a team-best 23 blocks and a team-best 14 steals.

One of the Nation's Leaders and Best

• Zavier Simpson is second in the nation and the Big Ten with 8.6 per game -- Cameron Parker (Sacred Heart) leads the nation with 9.6 apg.
• In his 10 games, Simpson has 86 total assists, which is the second most in the nation behind Sacred Heart's Parker (96).
• Simpson has six assists or more in nine games, including three 10+ assist games.
• This season, Simpson dished a career-best 14 against Houston Baptist and added 13 against Iowa State and then No. 8 Gonzaga at the Battle 4 Atlantis -- both setting and tying the Thanksgiving tournament's single game record.
• With those three 10+ assist games, Simpson added three double-doubles to his career total of eight.