Bamba Fall will need a big game after scoring no points in 13 minutes Wednesday night.
Losing back-to-back games is never good, but when it drops the conference record to 2-7, things couldn’t be much worse.
SMU hasn’t had much to cheer about since the Conference USA schedule began. With a 1-3 record at home and a 1-4 record on the road, the Mustangs can’t even take solace in the fact that the next game will be played at home.
One thing SMU can look forward to: They have had more success against Rice than any other team in school history. A 111-71 all-time record against the Owls is the most wins the Mustangs have against any school.
Last season the Mustangs went 2-1 against the Owls, including a tournament victory. But during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 season SMU was 0-5 against Rice.
The Mustangs’ offense has been inconsistent in the past three games. An offensive outburst against UAB led to a 60-56 win on the road. Since then, SMU has not been able to break 52 points in two losses.
The offense is suffering from a lack of production. The Mustangs had three players hit double-digits against UAB, but only one player achieved that mark against Memphis and only two did it against Houston.
The only consistent offensive player has been Ike Ofoegbu. The last time Ofoegbu didn’t score in double figures was Jan. 17 at UCF. Since then, Ofoegbu has averaged 15 points a game and had two 19-point games.
Devon Pearson broke out of a four-game slump on Wednesday night scoring 13 points after games of two, four, six and eight points.
Close losses against Southern Miss and UTEP hurt SMU early in conference play. The team missed a last-second shot against the Golden Eagles and lost to UTEP after holding a lead as big as a eight points with 6:25 left in the game.
The Mustangs’ other loss at home was last Wednesday’s 15-point breakdown against Houston.
Derrick Roberts returned to the Mustang lineup against Houston. Roberts scored eight points in 23 minutes and head coach Matt Doherty was happy to see him back on the court.
The Owls are coming off two wins over East Carolina and Southern Miss. Rice is currently fourth in the conference with a 6-3 C-USA record.
The game is Saturday at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.
Ike Ofoegbu has provided most of the offense for the Mustangs during C-USA games. (Nick McCarthy)
