ANN ARBOR >> As the nonconference slate winds down and the resumption of Big Ten play nears, Michigan coach Dusty May feels his team is right where it needs to be.

Sure, the Wolverines were a defensive stop or one fewer turnover away from having a better record through 12 games, possibly even an unblemished one.

But May sees something that’s more important than his team’s 9-3 mark at this point.

“The way we practice, the way we interact with each other, our attitude every day, those are the things that give me hope or bring fear and anxiety,” May said after Sunday’s 89-58 rout of Purdue Fort Wayne.

“I love our staff. I love our players. If we continue to grow together and support each other and do it for each other, then I think this team has a really high ceiling.”

May noted that a mentor of his told him a few years ago that there’s only a handful of teams in the nation that are “committed to doing it with each other, for each other.” Those teams end up having successful seasons.

That’s something that May preaches to his players. When people watch the Wolverines, May wants them to see a team that shares the game and does the right things, and “it should jump out at you.”

Assists are indicative of that. During Sunday’s romp, Michigan registered 21 assists on 37 baskets. Eight Wolverines had an assist, including four players who dished out at least three dimes. Throughout the game, Michigan players often passed up a good shot for an even better one.

“We’ve played 12 basketball games as a group. … As far as the players, the staff, the unity, we just haven’t (been together long),” May said. “I would love to be firing on all cylinders right now, but realistically I don’t think anyone is doing that. Should we expect to be doing that? It would probably be a little bit naïve.

“I like the direction we’re going. I don’t think we’ve been discouraged at all.”

The Wolverines certainly could’ve been after dropping back-to-back heartbreakers to Arkansas and Oklahoma — freshman guard Justin Pippen described it as the “lowest point of the season” — given the way the final minute of those losses unfolded.

That hangover coupled with the potential to look past a mid-major opponent and ahead to the holiday break could’ve made for a bad recipe. Instead, the Wolverines responded by shooting 77.8% from the field and 75% from 3-point range in the first half, both season-high marks for any half this season.

“I’m a competitor, so I take losses really bad. I don’t like losing,” junior guard Tre Donaldson said. “As a leader, there’s a certain way you have to go about things, and I had to go about it the right way to keep the team morale together.

“We’re going to lose some. We don’t need to win them all right now. When it comes to March, though, we’ll have games like the Oklahoma game, the Wake Forest game and the Arkansas game to go back on … and have it in the back our mind that we’ve been here before, so let’s act like it.”

Donaldson added that basketball is “90% mental and 10% playing,” and confidence is key to performing at a high level. That’s what the Wolverines are striving to do and have done to a degree, considering seven of their wins have come by at least 12 points and their three losses have been by a total of five points.

While Sunday’s rout offered an opportunity to extend the bench and get the reserves more minutes — most notably Pippen and fellow freshman guard L.J. Cason — May said there’s a different comfort level when it comes to playing 21-year-olds who have had success at this level compared to 18-year-olds who are adjusting to the college game.

Still, May said all the bench pieces, freshmen included, have an opportunity to improve their minutes and role in the rotation if they “show that they’re going to value the details that win and lose games” in environments like Madison Square Garden and the Big Ten tournament.

And if the Wolverines continue to focus on “fixing the little things” — namely turnovers — Donaldson believes it will take them “from good to great” and wherever they want to go. May agrees because he likes what he’s seen, particularly with the improvement in areas that drive “long-term success” like communication and rebounding.

“We certainly could be undefeated,” May said. “Yes, we wish we had those (Wake Forest, Arkansas and Oklahoma) games back. There’s a lot that went into losing those games. But at the end of the day, we played really high-level basketball for about 25 to 30 minutes in all three of them. Our goal is to get closer to 40 minutes of high-level basketball.

“I think as coaches, we’re not looking for perfection. We’re looking for intense, passionate effort for 40 minutes. Because we have good players that know how to play this game, we trust that the chips will fall where they may.”