The SMU men’s basketball team played their final game of the season on March 23, losing to Oklahoma State 85-83 in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
In SMU’s inaugural ACC season, the team far surpassed expectations, finishing fourth in the conference and posting a 24-11 record overall. Preseason rankings projected SMU finishing as low as 13th in the conference.
“For us to do as well as we did was a surprise,” Savannah Hunsucker, an SMU junior, said. “I think really something that was awesome too was there was a lot more support for basketball this year than there has been in previous seasons. The student section was really fun, so I think people were recognizing, you know, we’re actually doing pretty well.”
Coach Andy Enfield, who arrived on the Hilltop just this season, quickly gained favor with the SMU fanbase. SMU freshman Dean Ralsky said that Enfield was an impressive pickup for the Mustangs.
“After learning SMU was getting Andy Enfield, I was excited,” Ralsky said. “I was excited to see Andy recruit in the Dallas area. Andy had a successful year one in the ACC. Even if the ACC had a ‘down year,’ finishing tied for fourth in the ACC standings is super impressive.”
The Mustangs caught fire to start the season, stampeding to an 11-2 record. Along that stretch, SMU surpassed 100 points on four occasions. Junior Boopie Miller, a first-year Mustang after transferring from Wake Forest, was the primary factor in the team’s success, leading the field in scoring averages. Miller was one of six Mustangs to average over 10 points per game.
The Mustangs began ACC play 10-3, and appeared primed to have a spot in the NCAA Tournament—the school’s first appearance since 2017. However, an injury to Miller led to a rough streak of games for SMU, and after a second-round loss to Clemson in the ACC Tournament, March Madness dreams became impossible for the Ponies.
“We lost a heartbreaker to Clemson in the ACC tournament. Our guys battled, it was an extremely physical game. We knew we needed to win that game to have a chance to be on that bubble, and to lose on the last possession,” Enfield said. “It was a really tough way to lose your last ACC game.”
The season ended somewhat unceremoniously, as the Mustangs were upset in the second round of the NIT by the Oklahoma State Cowboys, despite a 31-point outburst from senior Kario Oquendo. After the loss, Enfield focused on the positives of the season and his pride in the growth of his squad throughout the year.
“If you look at our two scrimmages in October, and then you see even our early season games, you saw the improvement in this team,” Enfield said. “That’s all you can ask for as a coach, to be a better team at the end of the season.”
The loss was particularly bittersweet, as it was the final game of the season—Chuck Harris, Tibet Görener, Oquendo, Ambrose-Hylton, Matt Cross and Jackson Young. The departure of Harris, Cross and Oquendo leave the biggest holes in the SMU roster, as each averaged over 23 minutes and 11 points per game.
That isn’t to say SMU’s future isn’t bright. The Mustangs have the 16th best recruiting class in the country, boasting a class with four four-star recruits, according to On3. In 2024, SMU was ranked 93rd. The standout of the class is Dallas-based prospect Jaden Toombs, who has the potential to be an impact player from day one.
Furthermore, SMU’s activity in the transfer portal will be worth following. The football team had the fewest players declare for the transfer portal of any collegiate team. Should the men’s basketball program hold on to key pieces such as Miller, Yigitoglu, junior BJ Edwards and potentially poach a few new athletes, SMU could climb to the top of a weakening ACC conference.
“Jaden Toombs could play right away,” Ralsky said. “I also think that SMU is set up to do very well in the transfer portal this spring. I think a good goal for 2026 would be making the tournament. After being on the wrong side of the bubble this year, Coach Enfield will know what he needs to do and who he needs to bring in to be successful in year two of the ACC.”
“I think things are looking, in my opinion, a little bit rocky going into the next year, because a lot of our really awesome seniors are leaving. But, it looks like we have a really great incoming freshman class as well, and there’s also potential in the transfer portal,” I think the program has a lot of momentum.” Hunsucker said.
