With the carnage that Larry Brown has left at another program, the best that one of the top teams in the nation can do this season is play the role of spoiler.
SMU, off a 24-point beatdown of a solid Michigan team Tuesday night, is basically playing for pride this season — well, pride and a future payday.
After a second-place finish in the 2014 NIT, everything was bright for the Mustangs. However, their 2015 NCAA Tournament ended early, thanks to a very unfortunate (but correct) goaltending call in the final seconds of a loss to UCLA. This current generation of SMU players could easily lack motivation, given the NCAA tournament ban in place for next March. However, the Mustangs aren’t sulking through their season — they want to prove a point to the nation.
Much of this is because SMU has a roster loaded with high-caliber players who may have a professional future. Without Markus Kennedy for much of the game Tuesday night, SMU still made Michigan look like a JV squad. Kennedy left the game early without a single point or rebound, but it didn’t matter.
Instead, it was reload rather than rebuild, as Texas Tech transfer Jordan Tolbert became an unstoppable force inside. For the season, Tolbert is shooting 64.3 percent from the floor, while grabbing over eight rebounds per game off the bench, so Tuesday night was not a one-time fluke.
The Ponies are led by point guard Nic Moore, who picked up 15 points and seven assists on Tuesday. Moore is the heart and soul of the team and sets the table well for a high-powered offense, while having the ability to freelance and score when needed. He has deep shooting range and is actually shooting at a higher percentage behind the arc than inside it. His 4.5-assists-per-game average, compared to 1.7 turnovers, shows that he should be trusted with the ball at all times.
Along with Moore, Keith Frazier also has a high upside and an ability to efficiently put the ball in the hole. For the season, Frazier is scoring 13.4 points per game on 45.9-percent shooting. This also includes 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Ben Moore is also a solid offensive player for the squad, someone who does just about everything well and has proven himself as a reliable “glue player.”
To go along with their potent offense, the Mustangs are allowing just 61.4 points per game, and boast wins over the Wolverines, Stanford, and TCU. This is also a major reason why they should make some noise in AAC play.
In a short couple of games, Brown will rejoin the staff as well. Clearly, the players are dedicated to Brown and what he is doing with the program, so his return to the bench should not hinder anything that the group is doing at all. It won’t mess with chemistry.
After the win on Tuesday night, SMU is one of 10 remaining unbeaten teams. Looking at the schedule, it would not be shocking if the Mustangs were the last one of these standing.
With this in mind, the current era of SMU basketball is still defined by extreme disappointment and a profound sense of emptiness. No postseason option this season, combined with the loss to UCLA after entering the NCAA tournament 27-7 as AAC champions, leaves a large void in the midst of what this team is doing on the court. SMU’s players are handling this situation as well as they can, but the inability to turn take this excellence into the NCAA tournament still casts a pall over this season.
Playing spoiler — no matter how well — is still a letdown for a program which should be playing for higher stakes this season.
