Preview: Michigan MBB faces Oklahoma, looks to avoid consecutive losses

No. 24 Michigan men’s basketball (8-2, 2-0 Big Ten) took a close loss against Arkansas last week 89-87. It was the first time Michigan was featured in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Wednesday night at 9 p.m. the Wolverines will be back on a neutral court as they’ll try to take down No. 14 Oklahoma (10-0) at the Jumpman Invitational.

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Scouting No. 14 Oklahoma

The unbeaten Sooners are led by forward Jalon Moore and guard Jeremiah Fears. Moore leads the team with 17.5 points per game, and Fears has team-highs in assists (4.7) and steals (2.4) per game. As a team, Oklahoma is tied for 15th in the country with 10.2 steals per contest.

At times, the Sooners run with three guards on the floor. Guard Kobe Elvis leads the team in minutes and contributes just over 10 points per game. Duke Miles is typically the third guard, and he is second on the team in steals. Miles is also an efficient shooter with clips of 50 percent from the field, 43 percent from three and 75 percent from the charity stripe. 

Oklahoma spreads the floor and uses speed to execute its offense. It also takes care of the ball as they come in ranked top 30 in the nation in turnover margin.

Michigan’s Path to Victory

The Wolverines would likely benefit from using their size on Wednesday night. Out of Oklahoma players averaging at least 20 minutes per game, the tallest is 6-foot-10 forward Sam Godwin. The only two other forwards with consistent minutes are 6-foot-7 Moore and 6-foot-6 Glenn Taylor Jr. Oklahoma’s tallest player is sophomore forward Luke Northweather listed at 6-foot-11.

Oklahoma is one of the worst glass cleaning teams in the nation, tied for 236th in rebounding margin. If Michigan can get the duo of Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin rolling, the vertically challenged Sooners will have a tough time on both ends of the floor.

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