The United Center in Chicago will no doubt fill with orange when the Illinois men’s basketball team (5-2) tips off against Arizona (5-2) at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The Lexus “December to Remember” Classic, televised on ESPN, will see the No. 22 Wildcats take on Illinois for the first time since last December. The Illini dropped Bruce Weber’s second matchup against Arizona as Illinois’ coach, losing 84-72 one year ago.

“We need a big win,” Illinois guard Trent Meacham said. “It’s a great team with a great tradition – it’s a big game for us and them. Hopefully we can come out and play 40 minutes of basketball.

“It’s going to be fun,” he added.

Since the last game, Arizona has lost Mustafa Shakur and Marcus Williams, two catalysts in its up-tempo offensive system, and head coach Lute Olsen has taken a leave of absence. Interim coach Kevin O’Neill is handling the team in the meantime.

For Illinois, Meacham is following up his career-best 26 point performance against Weber State last Saturday and has averaged 17 points in the last three games.

If the Illini opt to go for a three-guard lineup against Arizona, Meacham would most likely start at shooting guard, Chester Frazier at point and Calvin Brock at small forward. Illinois used a two-guard set against Weber State, starting Frazier and Brock.

For Arizona, 6-foot-3 freshman guard Jerryd Bayless is averaging nearly 20 points per game to lead the Wildcats. Bayless has helped carry Arizona through the early part of the season and scored 26 points in the team’s victory against No. 9 Texas A&M; on Sunday.

Forward Chase Budinger is averaging more than 18 points and nearly five rebounds for Arizona, and scored 27 points on 6-of-12 three-point shooting against No. 4 Kansas in a 76-72 loss.

“Those two guys (Bayless and Budinger) are high-level talents, and both will be NBA players at some point,” O’Neill told the Chicago Tribune. “They both have a real good competitive edge and they’re improving right before our eyes. It’s nice to be able to manufacture shots. If you run a play for those guys, you’ll be able to get a shot off.”

Senior forward Brian Randle expects a mix of jerseys in the United Center stands supporting both teams, but said Thursday there’s a possibility that those wearing orange expecting to see Shaun Pruitt play could be disappointed.

After suffering a sprained ankle in practice Sunday, Pruitt has seen limited action this week. Additionally, he has been receiving treatment daily in an effort so that the junior center will be ready in time for Saturday’s game.

“I’m not really sure,” said Randle about Pruitt’s status for Saturday. “He’s listed as day-to-day, I think.”

Frazier thinks the center will be able go.

“I don’t know how bad he is right now, but I’m pretty sure he’s going to play,” Frazier said. “He hasn’t missed a lot of games, so I don’t think he’d miss this one.”

Pruitt has been the Illini’s leading rebounder with 7.4 per contest, but hasn’t been the scoring threat the Illini would have hoped after being named First Team All-Big Ten in the preseason.

Pruitt is the second leading scorer on the team at 10.3 points per game but has struggled making decisions when faced with double teams.

Mike Tisdale, who would no doubt benefit from additional minutes if Pruitt was inactive, speculated that winning Saturday’s game would be the boost of the year.

“This is the beginning of all of it,” Tisdale said. “This game would be a huge motivation builder. It’d be great for our resume.”