The plan for Michigan basketball coach Dusty May entering the season was to have his team face a grueling non-conference schedule, aiming to prepare them for a potentially long NCAA Tournament run. Mission accomplished in terms of difficulty.

An Impressive Start for Oklahoma

It has been an astonishing start for Porter Moser's Oklahoma team in their fourth year. The former Loyola Chicago coach has assembled a squad that enters Christmas undefeated, despite four of their top five scorers being in their first year. Senior forward Jalon Moore, in his second year at Oklahoma after two at Georgia Tech, is the star, averaging 17.5 points and second in rebounding with 6.2. The backcourt features a trio of guards, with five-star freshman Jeremiah Fears leading the way. He is the youngest and averaging 16.7 points and 4.7 assists per game, though he turns the ball over almost four times per contest. Fifth-year Dayton transfer Kobe Elvis is the final player in double figures, averaging 10.3 points and having played 115 games (94 starts) across his career. He is joined by sixth-year transfers Duke Miles (High Point), scoring 9.9 points per game, and Brycen Goodine, who has gone from Syracuse to Providence to Fairfield and now Oklahoma, averaging 7.3 points per game. Fifth-year Sam Godwin has been in the program for three years and averages 6.7 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds.

Offensive Prowess of the Sooners

The Sooners are a well-rounded offensive team. According to KenPom, they are ranked 35th in adjusted efficiency with 106.1, 22nd in free throw percentage at 78.9%, 39th in 2-point shooting at 57.5%, and 77th in 3-point shooting at 36.4%. "We just have a veteran group of guys. Everybody's played multiple years of college basketball except Jeremiah," said Sam Godwin. "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."

Challenges Ahead for Michigan

Michigan has had its share of challenges. After splitting with TCU and Wake Forest, they started rolling with a Power Four win against Virginia Tech (75-63), followed by a victory against perennial March Madness participant Xavier (78-53) in the Fort Myers Tip-Off. They brought that momentum into league play with a critical road win at then top-15 Wisconsin (67-64) and a hard-fought home win over a feisty Iowa team (85-83). However, the balloon was somewhat deflated after failing to hold a 15-point first-half lead in an 89-87 loss to Arkansas at Madison Square Garden. Despite this, the Wolverines remain in the Top 25, coming in at No. 21 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll.

The Last Marquee Game

This is the last big name test of the non-conference for the men's team. Michigan is 0-2 in its first two tries in the Jumpman Invitational, but as they say, the third time's the charm. The matchup is No. 21 Michigan (8-2) vs. No. 15 Oklahoma (10-0) in the Jumpman Invitational. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. TV/radio coverage is ESPN2 and WWJ-AM (950). Tony Garcia, the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press, predicts U-M 82, Oklahoma 75. He can be reached at apgarcia@freepress.com and followed on X at @RealTonyGarcia.