GAME NOTES: Following a heartbreaking loss to NJIT on Saturday, the Michigan Wolverines will try to bounce back against their in-state rival Eastern Michigan Eagles in a non-conference tilt at Crisler Center.

Eastern Michigan boasts a 7-1 overall record coming into the game against Michigan. Although it's been a strong start, the Eagles are coming off a loss to Dayton, 73-64, in Saturday's non-conference clash.

Michigan dropped a contest earlier in the season to Villanova (60-55), which ultimately wasn't too shocking. But the 72-70 defeat against NJIT on Saturday caught the attention of everyone across the nation, ultimately costing the Wolverines a spot in the Top-25.

These two programs have met a total of 29 times on the court, with Michigan owning a dominant 27-2 advantage. They met two years ago at the Crisler Center, which saw the Wolverines come away with a 93-54 victory.

Eastern Michigan watched as its unblemished record ended against Dayton in the team's last outing. The Eagles shot just 37.3 percent from the floor in the loss, and made just 7-of-26 shots from 3-point distance in the game as the team struggled to keep pace with the offensively strong Flyers. Raven Lee led all scorers in the game, however, netting 26 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the floor. Karrington Ward chipped in with 11 points, and Mike Talley added 10 points with seven rebounds. The Eastern Michigan defense didn't do the best job limiting Dayton scoring, allowing the Flyers to hit 45.7 percent of their attempts from the floor.

The competition for Eastern Michigan this season hasn't been aggressively strong outside of the matchup against Dayton. But in the games the Eagles have played, they've recorded strong statistics on both ends of the floor. The team is netting 73.5 ppg, helped along by 16.4 ppg from Lee, who leads the team in the category. On defense, EMU is allowing opponents to net 57.6 ppg on just 35.9 percent shooting. Ward (13.6 ppg) and Talley (10.3 ppg) round out a trio of double-digit scorers this season for the Eagles, while Ward tops the squad in rebounding at 7.3 boards per outing.

If anyone expected NJIT to upset Michigan on Saturday, those people were few and far between. But the visiting squad went into Ann Arbor and shot 58.7 percent from the floor, burying 11-of-17 from 3-point range to help down the Wolverines. Caris LeVert's career-high 32-point effort wasn't enough to keep Michigan afloat. He added six rebounds and four steals in the loss. Derrick Walton Jr. chipped in with 16 points, adding 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, but he turned the ball over a team-high four times.

Michigan will be looking to bounce back with a much better defensive effort against EMU. The Wolverines this season are allowing opponents to score just 63.1 ppg on 39.6 percent shooting from the floor. The team offensively is netting 74.2 ppg, led by LeVert's 18.6 ppg and 5.6 rpg marks. Zak Irvin chips in with 16.1 ppg, and Walton contributes 12.6 ppg. LeVert has asserted his dominance on the squad, adding in team-leading numbers in assists (35) and steals (18).

Eastern Michigan's record is stellar to start the season, but the Eagles have been relatively skating by against light competition. This contest against an angry Michigan team should highlight that fact.