Southern Miss @ Michigan preview

Michigan looks for its second 3-0 start in as many seasons when it concludes the mainland portion of the Maui Invitational at home against Southern Miss on Thursday. The Wolverines opened the new campaign with an 86-66 win over North Florida before grinding out a 72-65 victory against Central Michigan, and hope to extend their non-conference home winning streak to eight games in their first-ever meeting with the Golden Eagles.

Michigan, which has trailed in each of its first two games, is averaging 32 points in the first half while scoring 47 in the second session, and aims to smother a Southern Miss squad which was ranked 340th nationally in points per game (63) last season. "We have shown that we have a long way to go," Wolverines coach John Beilein told reporters. "It's going to be quite a journey until we mold this team and figure this thing out." Michigan has split its last four meetings with Conference USA opponents, including a 102-47 romp over Charlotte in its most recent matchup on Nov. 15, 2015. Southern Miss started the 2017-18 campaign with 79-69 win against Southern-New Orleans and sets its sights on recording a signature win under fourth-year coach Doc Sadler.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, BTN

ABOUT SOUTHERN MISS (1-0): Tyree Griffin, who sat out last year after transferring from Oklahoma State, set career highs with 21 points and 13 rebounds to record his second career double-double in the win against SUNO. Dominic Magee scored 11 of his 15 points from the free-throw line and pulled down seven rebounds in a reserve role, while Tim Rowe and Cortez Edwards each added 10 points. "Any time it's the first game of the year, you aren't going to be as good as you need to be," Sadler told reporters. "We have to understand that the faster the ball moves, the better a team we are."

ABOUT MICHIGAN (2-0): Senior co-captain Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures in the win against Central Michigan. Charles Matthews and Zavier Simpson both continued their stellar play by adding 13 points apiece while 3-point specialist Duncan Robinson finished with 10 points despite going 2-of-8 from behind the arc. Mo Wagner, who was named to the watchlist for the John Wooden Award, contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds to record his second double-double in as many games after registering one in his previous two seasons.

TIP-INS

1. Robinson has made at least one 3-pointer in nine of his last 10 regular-season games.

2. The Wolverines have won 61 of their 64 games when scoring 80 or more points under Beilein.

3. Southern Miss is 1-8 in non-conference road games since the start of the 2015-16 season.

PREDICTION: Michigan 85, Southern Miss 69