The plan for Michigan basketball coach Dusty May entering the season was to have his team play a non-conference schedule so difficult it prepared them for (ideally) a lengthy NCAA Tournament run come March.
Mission accomplished, at least in terms of the difficulty part.
The Wolverines wrap up a stretch of five-of-six games away from Crisler Center on Wednesday in the Jumpman Invitational against still undefeated Oklahoma (10-0) at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Michigan women’s team (9-1) is also in the event against No. 11 Oklahoma and gets things started at 9 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN2).
“Extremely well coached basketball team,” May said of Porter Moser’s group last week. “They’re tough, they have very good system on both sides of the ball, play aggressive, play with physicality. … play to their strengths.
“It’s another great test for us and it’s why we did this schedule.”
This is the last big name test of the non-conference for the men’s team, which got its money’s worth the whole way.
After splitting a pair with TCU and Wake Forest, U-M started rolling with a Power Four win against Virginia Tech (75-63), then a victory against perennial March Madness participant Xavier (78-53) in winning the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Michigan brought that momentum into the early stretch of league play when it got a critical road win at then top-15 Wisconsin (67-64) and followed it with a hard-fought home win over a feisty Iowa team (85-83).
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Though the balloon was somewhat deflated after Michigan failed to hold onto a 15-point, first-half lead in what ended as a 89-87 loss to Arkansas at Madison Square Garden, U-M remains in the Top 25 − the Wolverines came in at No. 21 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll on Monday − and will try to be the first to knock off No. 15 OU.
Here are three factors and a prediction for the last marquee game of the calendar year.
Know the foe
It’s been an impressive start for Moser’s squad in Year 4. The former Loyola Chicago coach has put together a team that approaches Christmas undefeated even as four of its top five scorers are in their first year on the team.
The only person that’s not, senior forward Jalon Moore, who’s in his second year in Norman following two years at Georgia Tech. Moore is the star, scoring (17.5 points) and second in rebounding (6.2).
The backcourt has a trio of guards but is led by the youngest, five-star freshman Jeremiah Fears − younger brother of Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears. He has the upper-hand on his older brother right now, averaging 16.7 points and 4.7 assists per game. Though he does turn it over almost four times per contest.
Next, fifth-year Dayton transfer Kobe Elvis (10.3 points) is the final player in double figures and has played in 115 games (94 starts) across his career, and is one of several tenured players. He’s joined by sixth-year transfers Duke Miles (High Point), who’s scoring 9.9 points per game, and Brycen Goodine, who’s gone from Syracuse to Providence to Fairfield and now Oklahoma and is scoring 7.3 points per game.
Fifth-year Sam Godwin has been in the program three years and averages 6.7 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds.
Time for a test?
In case it’s not clear, the Sooners are a well-rounded offensive team. They are No. 35 in adjusted efficiency (106.1), No. 22 from the line (78.9%), No. 39 on 2-pointers (57.5%), No. 77 on 3-pointers (36.4%) according to KenPom.
“We just have a veteran group of guys. Everybody’s played multiple years of college basketball except Jeremiah,” Godwin said recently. “We switch defenses up a lot, we switch ball-screen coverages up a lot, we switch post coverages up a lot.
“We keep offenses guessing. They never really know what we’re going to do, so it worked out well.”
Of course, all of this needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
According to the NET rankings, six of Oklahoma’s 10 games thus far are in the Quad 4 category. The Sooners are 3-0 in Quad 2 games (Louisville, Providence and Oklahoma State on neutral courts) and 1-0 in its Quad 1 game (neutral vs. Arizona), but per KenPom their strength of schedule on offense (329) and defense (293) explains why a Power Four team is 10-0 and still only in the mid-teens in the polls.
This will be Michigan’s fourth straight opponent that’s either Quad 1 or 2. U-M has only played two Quad 4 games this year.
Sooner or later?
It’s not as though the Sooners haven’t been tested.
They won the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they topped Arizona, and topped rival Oklahoma State, 80-65, last week. That’s also why it feels like a perfect let up spot for the Sooners, who have two cupcakes on the other side of the matchup and then finish the season with Quad 1 or 2 matchups in 17 of their final 18 contests.
Michigan had a “self-work” week where it focused on turnovers and rebounding. The turnovers will be put to the test as Oklahoma is No. 19 in defensive turnover rate (22.4%), though the rebounding should see improvement as the Sooners don’t rebound the ball well on defense at No. 251 (31.8% offensive rebounds allowed)
Michigan is 0-2 in its first two tries in the Jumpman Invitational, but as they say, the third time’s the charm.
Next up: Sooners
Matchup: No. 21 Michigan (8-2) vs. No. 15 Oklahoma (10-0); Jumpman Invitational.
Tipoff: 9 p.m. Wednesday; Spectrum Center; Charlotte, North Carolina.
TV/radio: ESPN2; WWJ-AM (950).
Tony Garcia’s prediction: U-M 82, Oklahoma 75.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball: Three keys and a pick for Jumpman Invitational
