Members of the men’s basketball team (13-12, 8-8 WAC) will try to push their conference record into the win column when they host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-17, 5-11 WAC) tonight at Moody Coliseum.
The team is happy to return home after a three-game road trip that included tough losses in Toledo and El Paso.
Against UTEP (23-7, 13-4 WAC) on Sunday, SMU held a 57-50 lead with 12:41 remaining, only to see the Miners go on an offensive tear to the tune of a 15-0 run over three minutes.
With 9:33 to play, senior guard Filiberto Rivera sank a three-pointer to put UTEP on top, 65-57. The Miners never looked back, and SMU left West Texas with a 79-74 loss and a surprisingly optimistic view of the game.
“I don’t think it’s a missed opportunity at all,” head coach Jimmy Tubbs said in The Dallas Morning News. “I think we came up short … The better team won.”
The Mustangs did record a victory at the hands of host Boise State on Friday, however, as junior Bryan Hopkins poured in 28 points in an 80-62 win.
Tonight against Tulsa, the men look to build on an already solid home record (9-3). The team has not lost a game on the Hilltop since late January.
Two hurdles that SMU will have to clear in order to get a win are Golden Hurricane forwards Jarius Glenn and Anthony Price; the pair is responsible for over 43 percent of Tulsa’s scoring this year. In addition, Glenn and Price have combined for 287 rebounds, 119 assists and 43 steals on the season.
“They’re going to get shots,” senior Patrick Simpson said of the Tulsa tandem, “we just need to limit them to the good shots they get. We need to make sure there’s a hand in their face all the time.”
A good sign for the Mustangs comes in the Golden Hurricane’s performance on the road – the team is 0 for 7 when playing WAC opponents outside of Tulsa.
The last time the two schools met, SMU took a 95-83 overtime victory in Oklahoma on New Year’s Day. Two SMU starters recorded offensive season-highs in the game – Hopkins was good for 32 points while senior Eric Castro poured in 28.
Castro became the second Mustang basketball player ever to be named to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-America First Team when he received the honor on Wednesday. He joins Pete Lodwick, who was recognized during the 1976-77 season, as the only SMU players to earn the distinction.
“This just proves that hard work pays off,” Castro said of the accolade, “both in the classroom and on the court.”
In addition to his 3.8 cumulative GPA as an accounting and sociology major, the 6-foot-8 center is averaging a career-best in points (14.3), rebounds (7.2) and assists (2) this season.
Based on his high academic achievements, Castro is smart enough to know that while the Golden Hurricane may have a seemingly dismal road record, it is not a team to be taken lightly this late in the season.
“We’re playing for 3rd place in [next week’s] WAC Tournament,” he said, “and that’s what’s driving us to beat Tulsa.”
Tip off against the Golden Hurricane is set for 7 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.
