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USC Basketball: Get to Know USC’s Opponent SMU

By Evan Lovett

Mar 12, 2017; Hartford, CT, USA; The Southern Methodist Mustangs pose for a picture as they celebrate their championship win over the Cincinnati Bearcats during the AAC Conference Tournament at XL Center. SMU defeated Cincinnati 71-56. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2017; Hartford, CT, USA; The Southern Methodist Mustangs pose for a picture as they celebrate their championship win over the Cincinnati Bearcats during the AAC Conference Tournament at XL Center. SMU defeated Cincinnati 71-56. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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The USC basketball team, fresh off of an inspirational 17-point comeback in a ‘First Four’ contest against Providence, head to Tulsa to face the SMU Mustangs in a first round game in the NCAA Tournament.

If USC vs. SMU sounds familiar, it’s because the contest is a rematch of an early season game, with USC winning 78-73, in an even match-up in which neither team led by double digits.This may already be giving the USC basketball squad some confidence.

The Mustangs, a 30-4 club that won the American Athletic Conference, are seeded sixth in the East bracket. The Mustangs are scorching hot, winning 25 of their final 26 games, including the conference tournament. SMU relies on its defense, holding each opponent under 80 points this season.

For the year, they are third in all of NCAA Division I with 59.8 points allowed per game. Offensively, they average a solid 74.5. They win their games by an average margin of more than 15 points.

Coaching legend Larry Brown, who resurrected the moribund program in 2012, is the architect of the Tim Jankovich-led Mustangs. At the time of Brown’s hire, SMU’s most recent tournament appearance was in 1993.

It took Brown only three years to return the Mustangs to the dance in 2014-2015. They were slapped with a postseason ban for the 2016 season, and after the year Brown handed the reins to Jankovich, who guided the team to its most wins in a single season, commensurate with the high expectations imposed on the team prior to the season.

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SMU is a stingy, responsible team, accruing one of the nation’s best assist-turnover ratios during the regular season (1.51). Their best player is Semi Ojeleye, a junior transfer from Duke who is leading the team with 18.9 points per game on 49.1% shooting. The forward also grabs 6.8 rebounds per game while hitting 42.8% of his three-pointers.

Ojeleye was one of four Mustangs winning all-conference honors. Seniors Sterling Brown and Ben Moore were second-team selections along with sophomore guard Shake Milton.

That trio combines for 38 points per game. Moore is third in the conference with 7.9 rebounds per game.

Next: USC Game Recap Against Providence

Overall, SMU is 10-13 in the NCAA Tournament in 11 appearances. They have never advanced past the second round (1988). Tipoff Friday is on the schedule for 12:10 PDT. The USC Basketball team is proving to be a deadly squad, and may be too much for SMU to handle.

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