After sneaking into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2017, the Mustangs fell in the First Four against a red-hot Miami Redhawks 89-79 on Wednesday, March 18, to cap off a historic season for SMU in Coach Andy Enfield’s second year at the helm.
SMU completed its third straight season with 20+ wins, a feat it hasn’t reached in almost a decade. In their first two years in the ACC, Enfield has led the team to a 44-25 overall record and 21-17 in conference play. Coach Enfield coached the historic Florida Gulf Coast University team, dubbed “Dunk City” for their high-flying offense, and USC, where in five of his 11 years there, he made and won games in the big dance. As a bubble team, SMU just barely squeaked in, and when asked about it, coach Enfield kept it simple.
“Well, if you look at our whole body of work, we deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Enfield said. “With our NET being 37 and the quality of wins, we deserve to be in the tournament if you look at all our metrics and our wins.”
While this year’s SMU team couldn’t make noise in the tournament, that didn’t stop them from having a historic season. In the ACC, the Mustangs finished in the top five in points per game, field goal percentage and rebounds per game. While the Mustangs ranked second in points per game, they were ranked dead last in defensive scoring, allowing opponents to score 77.9 points per game.
Senior guard Boopie Miller was one of many bright spots for this year’s squad. Averaging 19.1 points and 6.4 assists per game, both stats top-five in the ACC, his veteran presence led the team during this season. Jackson State transfer Jaron Pierre Jr. was Miller’s counterpart, averaging just under 18 points per game, and was one of the more prolific scorers from every level.
Corey Washington, Samet Yiğitoğlu and BJ Edwards were all key factors in the success of the Mustangs. Edwards made the All-ACC Defensive team after leading the conference in steals, which was a huge compliment to SMU’s explosive offense. Washington made his mark beyond the arc, shooting nearly 40% from three. Yiğitoğlu was a presence down low, dominating the post for Enfield’s squad.
SMU came out of the gates fast with a 20-point win over Tarleton State, 96-76, which was the beginning of the Mustangs’ best start since the 2019-20 season with eight straight wins. During the win streak, SMU would score 100+ points in three games. SMU put its name on the map early, going 2-2 against teams in the SEC before entering conference play with a bang.
On Jan. 3, the Mustangs welcomed college basketball blue blood North Carolina to Moody Coliseum, where SMU dominated and won 97-83. They then hit the road for the first time in conference play with narrow defeats at Duke and Clemson. When SMU returned to the 214 to take on Virginia Tech, it became an instant classic – a back-and-forth battle that ended with a Miller half-court heave to win the game 77-76. After the game, Miller was asked if he thought the shot was going in.
“Yeah, I did,” Miller said. “I missed too many free throws. So, you know, I knew it was going in.”
The rest of the season was on and off for the Mustangs, but it would take a turn for the worse. Defensive MVP Edwards would go down with an ankle injury, leading to a four-game skid headed into the ACC Tournament. SMU would win one game in the tournament against Syracuse before falling to Louisville in the second. The win against Syracuse was just enough to get into the big dance.
SMU would take on Miami University (Ohio), who finished the regular season 31-0, in the first four to advance to the Round of 64. SMU Athletics released a statement saying Edwards would be healthy, but that was not the case. A couple of hours before the tip, it was announced that Edwards would not play in the game. This would be a problem as the Redhawks could not be stopped beyond the arc, knocking down 16 three-pointers, and ending SMU’s season.
Looking back, the Mustangs finished the season losing six of their last seven games and a 20-14 record. There were many positives, highlighted by making the tournament for the first time since 2017. With two solid seasons to start their tenure in the ACC, Enfield will look to level up the recruiting and hit the portal hard to continue to build the foundation that he has laid to bring the Mustangs back on the college basketball map.
