For the Michigan men's basketball team, a matchup against Oakland University typically presents an opportunity for an easy win.

Not so this season. The Wolverines, despite their strong start, remain an inexperienced and untested group. Meanwhile, their neighbors from Oakland County have a stronger team than most other mid-majors.

And the Golden Grizzlies (6-5) come into Saturday’s game hot, having defeated No. 7 Tennessee in Knoxville 89-82 on Tuesday.

Oakland also lost by just one point to then-No. 7 Michigan State last Saturday and has played three other ranked schools, making it a battle-tested squad.

“Oakland's excited about this game, we're excited about this game," Michigan coach John Beilein said at a press conference Friday. "Oakland has a tremendous resume they’ve built so far ... (They're) really experienced, and they’ve developed into being a very good team, very much like many of the Big Ten foes we’ll play this year."

Leading the Golden Grizzlies in their upset over the Volunteers was 6-foot-11 center Keith Benson. The fifth-year senior dominated, pouring in 26 points and also notching 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks.

It was no fluke performance, either. Last season, Benson earned both the Summit Conference Player of the Year award and the Lou Henson National Mid-Major Player of the Year distinction. He enters Saturday's matchup with the Wolverines averaging 18 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game.

Michigan (8-2) doesn’t have a post presence on par with Benson, let alone an experienced frontcourt player. Still, the team will have to make slowing Benson down a priority on Saturday.

The Wolverines were able to contain Utah’s pair of seven-foot centers in their 75-64 win over the Utes last Friday, a good sign for their chances against Oakland.

But neither of Utah’s big men was nearly as skilled as Benson, and he has a quality running mate in 6-foot-9 forward Will Hudson (13.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg).

“We’re going to have to work together as a team and just play smart defense," freshman forward Jon Horford said Friday. "Basically, just help each other out ... we try to look at it the same as any game, play him the same as we would any other post (player). But we are aware of (Benson's) abilities.”

It will be critical for redshirt freshman Jordan Morgan to stay out of foul trouble against the Grizzlies. The Detroit native struggled to do so against North Carolina Central, tallying his second personal foul just over five minutes into the game and forcing Beilein to go to the bench.

While Horford has stepped up in the last two games and has been a surprise with his recent surge of quality play, the other backup, redshirt freshman forward Blake McLimans, has yet to find a consistent rhythm on offense or defense.

And in any case, Beilein won’t want to have to deal with having limited options in the paint. All three men in the middle will have to play well defensively if the Wolverines are to limit Benson.

In fact, the whole team’s defense will need to need to step up and provide help. It was one-on-one opportunities in the post that Harvard big man Keith Wright exploited on his way to 18 points and 12 rebounds in the game Dec. 4 at Crisler Arena.

Michigan swarmed the post more the last two games effectively and created turnovers. The Wolverines forced 31 giveaways against Utah and North Carolina Central combined and turned the ball over themselves just 15 times.

“That’s our basketball,” junior guard Zack Novak said after the Utah game. “That’s the brand we play … you just stay solid (on defense), there are teams that’ll give you the ball, they’ll cough it up. We just do that.”

For Michigan to win Saturday, it’s going to have to play a lot better than it did against North Carolina Central. Oakland presents a much stiffer challenge.

And the Grizzlies are coming into this one hungry for another major-conference win.

“It’s not like they’re going to let down now because they got that win (over Tennessee),” Beilein said Tuesday. “They’ve played so many tough games … they’re going to be very focused on this one.

“Knowing (Oakland coach Greg Kampe) and his team, they want to go and get that win over a Michigan team that they didn’t get over Michigan State.”