With just two losses this season – a total of four points – the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines are in a good position. Dusty May’s squad is on track for an NCAA Tournament berth but would like more, meaning the Wolverines could use another solid non-conference win. The last opportunity to do so is on Wednesday in Charlotte, where the last Power Five opponent on the schedule is the number 14 Oklahoma Sooners.

Like the entire SEC, the undefeated Sooners are making headlines this season. En route to victory in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Oklahoma earned four wins over top-100 KenPom teams, the same total as Michigan. The Wolverines (23rd) are ranked higher in the analysis than the Sooners (37th), but the polls have flipped the teams. That should be good at the Jumpman Invitational.

No. 24 Michigan Wolverines (8-2) vs. No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners (10-0)

Date and time: Wednesday, December 18, 9 p.m. ET
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
TV/Streaming: ESPN2

Oklahoma has been solid on both ends of the court and has few deficiencies in its profile. Freshman Jeremiah Fears, the No. 44 player in the 247Sports Composite, was as advertised, averaging 16.7 PPG while leading the team with 4.7 APG. Fears and Friends play with a certain pace, move the ball well and like to take threes; This will be a test for the Wolverines after some tough defensive performances.

The last time these teams met was in the second round of the 2008-09 NCAA Tournament, when Blake Griffin’s team defeated the No. 10 Wolverines, who returned to the Big Dance after an 11-year absence. Today marks the third edition of the Jumpman Invitational, completing a rotation. Michigan lost to North Carolina in 2022 and to Florida last season, with both games coming to the point.

A big question: Where is the discipline?

I won’t talk about ball losses in every single game because unfortunately they don’t seem to go away. What I think is worth mentioning is the general concept of discipline and patience, especially towards sports teams that like to run. Against the Razorbacks, Michigan played right into their hands with quick passes, which made sloppy mistakes in transition easy to spot.

The Wolverines will have to contain Fears on Wednesday, which is much easier to do in the half court. Oklahoma has a top-50 eFG rate, so a disciplined defense but also a smart offense is essential to avoid another subpar defensive performance. The Sooners aren’t a great offensive rebounding team, but cleaning up the glass also remains an area where the defense needs to show more attention. Michigan already has a solid defense (No. 15) and eliminating its wild play will only make it stronger.

One thing to keep in mind: play the percentages

Michigan ranks 39th in adjusted offense but has the 15th-best eFG rate — and the sixth-highest two-point shooting rate in the country. The main reason for this gap is obviously turnovers, but despite that frustrating Achilles’ heel, the Wolverines have scored over 1.20 PPP in their last two games, largely due to an insane 68.4 percent shooting rate from inside the arc. Basically, if the Wolverines get a shot, good things will happen; It’s these shotless, turnover-heavy possessions that have limited this team.

The Sooners are .200 in two-point defense, although many of those issues occurred early in the season. Nevertheless, the Danny Wolf-Vlad Goldin combination should celebrate again. Wolf has seen his turnover rate slowly decline, while Goldin is hitting 80 percent of his shots at the rim over the last four games after missing a few bunnies earlier in the year. At some point, teams will figure out how to stop this duo (or at least sell out to prevent it), but until that happens, the Wolverines should continue to build on this advantage.