Throughout the month of December, Michigan basketball has ebbed and flowed depending on the opponent.

Against good teams, the Wolverines played better than expected. Against overmatched foes, Michigan played at a level where it would win few, if any, Big Ten games.

Saturday becomes a middle road. Oakland, which Michigan plays Saturday (noon, ESPN3.com), will be the best team to come to Crisler Arena so far this season. The Grizzlies have a lot of what Michigan doesn’t.

They have a potential first-round NBA lottery pick in fifth-year senior center Keith Benson. They have experience with four seniors or redshirt seniors in their starting lineup.

And they have a win over a Top 10 team after beating No. 7 Tennessee on Tuesday, 89-82.

“It’ll be a good challenge for us, one of the most talented teams we’ve played,” Michigan junior guard Zack Novak said. “Maybe a little bit of a benchmark to see where we’re at. Give these guys kind of an opportunity to see an NBA-type player.”

Novak has a feeling he knows where Michigan figures into things. The Wolverines have won five in a row dating back to Michigan’s lone road trip of the season, a three-game swing that ended with a win over Clemson in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Oakland, though, will be a stern test for a Michigan defense that has been the catalyst to its winning streak. The Wolverines have allowed 55.7 points a game this year, third-best in the Big Ten, and are allowing teams to shoot just 38.1 percent from the floor.

A year ago, the Wolverines allowed 61.6 points and opponents shot 44.3 percent.

“We’ll see what we’re really capable of defensively this game,” junior guard Stu Douglass said. “We’ve played some good teams, some athletes, some skilled players, but this is a different type of team than we’ve played so far.”

Oakland is more like a Big Ten team than any of Michigan’s prior opponents, except Syracuse.

The Grizzlies have an elite post player in Benson, extra size with 6-foot-9 forward Will Hudson and a pair of talented guards. They have an experienced coach in 27-year Oakland veteran Greg Kampe, who Michigan coach John Beilein fawned over Friday.

Playing against Benson, though, will be Michigan’s key. It might give an idea of how the Wolverines will do in the Big Ten opener against Purdue and its star center, JaJuan Johnson, and Wisconsin and its All-American caliber forward, Jon Leuer.

“We know we’re young and we know we have a lot of work to do. Whether we do a good job with him or he has a monster night, we keep moving and trying to improve," Beilein said. “He’s a talented player, very talented, but he’s not alone.”

Which is exactly what makes Oakland a team Michigan is concerned about.

Michael Rothstein covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.