After a four day lay-off, the 9-3 Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team return to the Crisler Center for its final nonconference game against the Furman Paladins. Michigan will then have more than a week to prepare for its conference opener, when they open on the road against the emerging Iowa Hawkeyes.

Coming into the game, the Wolverines’ shooting ability has been phenomenal. Over the last three games, Michigan has shot 55.2 percent from the floor. Not only have the maize and blue been outstanding from the floor, but they have been shooting tremendously beyond the arc as well. Michigan has made at least 10 or more 3-pointers over the last thee outings. In fact, Michigan has netted 45 in all—an average of 15 threes per game. The Wolverines tallied a school-record 19 threes in their last contest against the Central Arkansas Bears.

For Furman, it is coming into Ann Arbor after a close win, 68-62, against Tennessee Tech. On the season, the Paladins have obtained a 7-5 record. In their last four games, the Paladins have won three of them, with the trio being all road games. Furman defeated Liberty (61-58) and at Gardner-Webb (68-65) before its Monday night won against Tennessee Tech.

This game should allow Michigan to keep on fine-tuning the little things before Big Ten play. Not only should it allow the Wolverines to improve upon the small things, it should also allow them to give some of their players who are still a tad bit green to see more time on the court. Come conference time, Michigan may have to rely on freshmen like Xavier Simpson and Ibi Watson. The two young guards have seen the floor sparingly for the maize and blue this season. So if Michigan is up early in the second-half, these two freshmen may see the court earlier than normal against Furman.

How to watch

Date: December 22, 2016

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Television: BTN Network, streaming on BTN2Go

Radio: Michigan Sports website

GameThread

Today’s game thread question is:

What is the biggest takeaway from Michigan’s nonconference schedule?