ABOUT SMU • SMU brings a 16-13 overall record and 6-10 mark in The American into Thursday’s game. • Mustangs stand in ninth in the latest American Athletic Conference standings. • In its most recent action, SMU dropped an 84-78 decision to No. 13/12 Wichita State in Dallas on Saturday night. • Against Wichita State, guard Jahmal McMurray led all players with 28 points and six 3-pointers… Guard Jimmy Whitt added 16 points with a game-high six assists, and guard Ben Emelogu topped the Mustangs with six rebounds. • This season, Shake Milton leads the Mustangs with 18.0 points per game but has been sidelined recently with a hand injury… McMurray stands second with 14.7 points per contest… Jarrey Foster ranks third with 13.2 points per game and leads SMU with 5.9 rebounds per game but also has been sidelined with a shoulder injury… Whitt ranks fourth with 10.9 points per game and leads SMU with 3.6 assists per contest, while Emelogu is the fifth SMU player in double digits with 10.2 points per game. • Head Coach Tim Jankovich is in his third season as head coach at SMU and his 12th season overall as an NCAA collegiate head coach • Has compiled a 55-18 record at SMU and is 212-139 during his career… Previously built a 104-64 record at Illinois State (2007-12) and a 53-57 mark at North Texas (1993-97). • Jankovich is 2-1 against Houston during his career with all three previous meetings coming during his SMU tenure. • Jankovich has posted a 2-2 record against Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson during their careers, including a 2-1 mark during Sampson’s Houston and Jankovich’s SMU tenures. • 1982 graduate of Kansas State.
We need to do a better job of making them play at our pace tonight than we did last time. They can choose to slow it down on their offensive possessions, but we need to run them off the floor when we have the ball.
“I don’t have to refocus the guys – they do it themselves,” Sampson said. “SMU puts you in a tough position, because they only play one big at a time, goes small and makes you go small. Last time, our small lineup helped us, but it took away half of our roster. The strength of our team is depth up front. They’re a tough matchup for everybody and gave Wichita State a fit who only beat them by six points. It is going to be a tough game for us.”
Got a feeling our game may not show on ESPN2 before tip. Kentucky-Ole Miss game in the earlier spot has seen 4 techs in the first 6 minutes and long game stoppages as the refs look at the replays. Just brutal officiating
