In a battle of the two last-place teams in the conference, the SMU men’s basketball team will look for its second conference win of the season against the Rice Owls. The Owls (3-18, 0-8) are last in the C-USA standings to only the Mustangs (7-13, 1-6).
The Mustangs are coming off a loss to the top team in the nation, the Memphis Tigers. Last Wednesday’s game resulted in the Tigers remaining undefeated on the season and in the conference with a 77-48 win.
Similar to most conference games, senior guard Jon Killen led the Mustangs, along with Bamba Fall, with 12 points in a game where points were at a premium for SMU. Killen leads the Mustangs in scoring during conference play, averaging 16.6 points per game.
In the post, Senegal natives Bamba Fall and Papa Dia have made their collective presence felt on both ends of the court. Fall is averaging over 2.5 blocks per game in conference, while Dia is posting six rebounds per game.
Their defensive skills, along with a post presence on the offensive end, will be necessary to combat one of Rice’s most prolific scorers and defensive players. Paulius Packevicius, a senior forward from Lithuania, is nearly averaging a double-double with 12.8 points per game and 9.6 rebounds.
Another SMU player that Rice may look to test is senior guard Derrick Roberts. Roberts may not show up as a superlative in statistical categories, but for much of the season he has been matched up one-on-one with some of the conference’s tougher scorers.
Rodney Foster, a junior guard, plays nearly the entire game and leads the Owls in scoring. He is averaging 13.7 points per game and is the only player that consistently attempts three pointers.
Roberts has guarded prolific scorers on the perimeter so far this season, like Ben Uzoh and Robert McKiver. The Mustangs may not play a man-to-man defense all game. However, when the team needs a defensive stop on the Owls’ top scorer, odds are, coach Doherty will turn to Roberts, a veteran defender.
The game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and will take place at Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs are 6-7 at home and won their only conference game at the Coliseum back on Jan. 26.
