U-M Looks to Put a Bow on Spectacular 2018 as Binghamton Visits Crisler

» Michigan closes its non-conference schedule by hosting Binghamton at a sold-out Crisler Center.
» U-M is a perfect 12-0 -- one of five undefeated teams left in the nation.
» The Wolverines, winners of 26 of their last 27 games overall, have won their last 19 non-conference games at Crisler Center. U-M is also 26-1 record in its last 27 games in Ann Arbor.
» Jordan Poole has scored in double figures in his last seven games, shooting over 50 percent from the field in six of those contests.
» Today's game marks the sixth straight sellout crowd at Crisler Center.

NEXT GAME
Sunday, Dec. 30 -- Binghamton (Crisler Center), Noon

The University of Michigan men's basketball team (No. 2 AP, No. 4 USA Today) will close its non-conference schedule and the 2018 calendar year against Binghamton Sunday (Dec. 30) in a sold-out Crisler Center. With a noon tipoff, the game will be broadcast on BTN with Brandon Gaudin and Stephen Bardo on the call.

A Little Bit About Binghamton

• Binghamton comes to Ann Arbor with a 4-9 overall mark. The Bearcats snapped a four-game losing streak with a last-second 68-67 win over LIU Brooklyn (Dec. 21) just before the holiday break. Graduate transfer guard J.C Show (Bucknell) drained a corner three-pointer as the horn sounded to give the Bearcats the dramatic win and complete the comeback after trailing 30-20 at halftime.
• Freshman guard Sam Sessoms leads the Bearcats in scoring at 17.7 points per game while adding 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. He has taken 25 percent of Binghamton's shots with 201 field goal attempts. He is second with 21 three-pointers and leads with 12 steals.
• Show is second on Binghamton with 11.1 points per game as he has made a team-best 29 long-range buckets. Just over 60 percent of his offensive production is from beyond the arc. He adds 4.1 rebounds.
• Senior forward Caleb Stewart is Binghamton's top rebounder at 6.6 per game, with graduate transfer forward Chancellor Barnard (Loyola Maryland) second at 6.3. In addition to the duo's rebounding, they have 52 of the Bearcats' 85 blocks on the season. In fact, Binghamton leads the America East in blocked shots and ranks third nationally with 6.5 blocks per game.
• Tommy Dempsey is in his seventh season as head coach at Binghamton. He joined the Bearcats following seven seasons as head coach at Rider (2005-12).
• The Bearcats were picked to finish sixth in the America East preseason poll. Last season Binghamton finished with an 11-20 overall record.

Tidbits from U-M's Notebook

• Sunday's game will mark the sixth straight sellout for Michigan. In fact, U-M's upcoming Big Ten games with Penn State (Jan. 3), Indiana (Jan. 6) and Northwestern (Jan. 13) at Crisler Center are already sold out, giving the Wolverines nine so far this season. Those nine are the most since the 2013-14 season, when U-M finished with 14 sellouts.
• Since U-M's 61-52 loss at Northwestern (Feb. 6, 2018), the Maize and Blue has won 26 of its last 27 games, with the lone loss coming in the 2018 national championship game against Villanova. Of the 26 victories, 18 have been by double figures.
• The Wolverines add an impressive 26-1 record in their last 27 games at Crisler Center. The lone home setback was a 70-69 win by No. 5/7 Purdue (Jan. 9, 2018) after the Boilermakers' Isaac Haas made a free throw with four seconds left in the classic Big Ten battle.
• U-M, which is fourth nationally for defensive efficiency, is holding opponents to 55.3 points per game -- the third lowest in the country. Virginia (ACC) and Texas Tech (Big 12) are ahead of the Wolverines.
• Michigan is led by the trio of Ignas Brazdeikis (16.1 ppg), Charles Matthews (14.5 ppg) and Jordan Poole (13.2), who have combined for 26 of U-M's 38 double-figure scoring games and all 11 20-plus-point games -- Brazdeikis (4), Matthews (4), Poole (3).
• Zavier Simpson has five or more assists in 10 games and leads U-M with 5.9 per game, which is 35th in the nation. He adds 7.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and a team-best 1.5 steals per contest.
• Jon Teske leads U-M in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and blocks (2.1 bpg).
• Michigan nearly posted its fourth game of 10-plus steals with nine against Air Force (Dec. 22). With 10 against Western Michigan (Dec. 15) the Wolverines have 19 in the last two games. For the season U-M averages 6.3 steals per game.

2018 Proving to Be a Great Year

• Michigan is 33-5 during the 2018 calendar year.
• In the last 364 days, U-M repeated as Big Ten Tournament champions -- winning four games in four days for a second straight year -- and advanced to its second Final Four and national title game in six years.
• In this stretch of 38 games, U-M has had a 14-game winning streak (snapped by Villanova in the national championship game) and its current 12-game winning streak to start this season.
• In this stretch the Maize and Blue has defeated eight nationally ranked teams -- with five of those among the top 10, including two over rival Michigan State.
• In this stretch, U-M is 15-1 in home games and 18-4 in road/neutral games.
• Among the five losses in 2018, three are true road games, three are against top-five opponents, one was a one-point home loss and one was in the national title game -- No. 5/7 Purdue (L, 70-69; Jan. 9), at Nebraska (L, 72-52; Jan. 18), at No. 3/3 Purdue (L, 92-88; Jan. 25), at Northwestern (L, 61-52; Feb. 6) and vs. No. 2/2 Villanova (L. 79-62; April 2).

A-Maize-ing Numbers

• Michigan has won 19 straight games against non-conference opponents at Crisler Center. The last non-conference home loss was a 73-70 setback against Virginia Tech (Nov. 30, 2016) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
• Michigan's 12-0 record marks just the second time under John Beilein (since 2007-08) U-M has been undefeated near the end of December. The other occurrence was the 2012-13 campaign, when the team got off to a program-best 16-0 start and did not drop its first game until Jan. 13 -- a 56-53 loss at No. 15 Ohio State when Trey Burke's potential game-tying three went halfway down and then rattled out. That season, the Wolverines advanced all the way to the national title game before falling to Louisville.
• Since U-M's well-documented plane accident prior to the start of the 2017 Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines have gone 51-9.