SMU Basketball Update: Tigers Too Much

SMU Hangs For Big Home Crowd, Seniors, Before Falling, 72-55

DALLAS – So … what to take from the loss to mighty Memphis last Wednesday?

1) Everyone expected it.

2) Memphis ain’t North Carolina.

3) This was SMU’s largest home crowd in seven years (7,421).

4) The Mustangs could be “ Memphis” in, oh, three years. (You read that right, Bruin-breath.)

One more thing: If No. 4 happens, expect Moody Coliseum to become a local celebrity magnet. Dallas Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman showed up for this one to see “a big-time basketball game.” And he said he wasn’t disappointed.

SMU's largest home crowd in seven years, 7,421, watched the Mustangs battle No. 2 Memphis on Wednesday.

“Most people expected SMU to get blown out tonight,” Newman said, “and it was a pretty good game for maybe 38 minutes of it. So, it’s definitely a turn in the right direction.”

Said Memphis head coach John Calipari, “I thought SMU did a great job to keep the game to where they had a chance.”

The Mustangs trailed, 24-21, with five minutes left in the first half, then, by 12 at the break after a late run led by Memphis’ Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

And SMU (9-19, 3-12) was only 11 down deep into the second half, before Memphis roared to a 12-6 finishing run over the last seven minutes.

“Hopefully, we’ve converted some of these people who showed up for this game into fans for the future,” said SMU head coach Matt Doherty. “I think they can see that we have a great product here. Not only SMU, but Conference USA.”

Tigers Must Improve

Calipari said his No. 2 Tigers are not yet playing at the level expected by many and, with The Brackets approaching, that’s worrisome.

“We gotta do something inside,” he said. “We got outrebounded again, inside.”

“If we’re to be the team everybody thinks we are, we’re gonna have to get those guys playing better. And I know they’re better than they’re playing.”

Jon Killen, playing in his last home game, along with Derrick Roberts and Paulius Ritter, led SMU with 16 points after popping for 33 on Saturday. Killen was 4-9 from 3-point range Wednesday.

Memphis head coach John Calipari said, with the addition of new Crum Basketball Center, SMU is "one of the best jobs in the league."

Calipari said he was worried about Killen getting hot on Senior Night.

“[Killen’s] a terrific player,” he said, adding the Tigers gave up on stopping him in pick-and-rolls and went to a trap. “I said forget it. Just trap. He forced us to change, defensively, what we were doing.”

Roberts and Ritter finished with nine and eight points, respectively. Bamba Fall had 11 points and 8 boards.

Rose led the Tigers with 19 points and Douglas-Roberts added 18. Antonio Anderson collected 10 boards. Joey Dorsey, feeling the effects of recent illness, had eight boards and six points.

Ultimately, Memphis’ speed is what kills. “You can’t simulate that in practice,” Doherty said. SMU shot 37 percent in first half, while adjusting to Tiger-Time, and 52 percent in the second, though it wasn’t enough.

Memphis (29-1, 15-0) shot about 44 percent throughout the game.

The glaring difference, statistically? The Tigers devoured 22 SMU turnovers for 25 points and took almost 20 more shots than the Mustangs. Also, Memphis’ deep bench outscored SMU’s, 22-7.

SMU outrebounded the Tigers, 35-34.

“I’m proud of our effort,” Doherty said. “I just wish we could take care of the ball a little bit better and win some of these games in the future.”

“But, it was a great atmosphere, a great crowd, and I think a sign of things to come.”

Want Mustard With That?

Under “Call Me Petty, But Here Goes,” file this: After a steal, with a late 17-point lead, the Tigers decided it was Globetrotter time, with Douglas-Roberts laying the ball off the glass for Dorsey to flush. That’s cool, guys.

Suggestion: Save it for Kansas.

On a lighter note, Calipari called SMU’s new practice facility, The Crum Basketball Center, “as nice as it gets.”

“I said today, when I saw that, ‘This is one of the best jobs in our league.’”

“One, you’ve got Dallas. You’ve got the school. You’ve got facilities. You’ve got recruiting areas. I think what they’re doing here in basketball and, obviously in football, is some exciting stuff.”

“In three years, it may be SMU doing this,” Calipari said of Memphis’ run.

So … can the Mustangs one day become “Tigers?” “Definitely,” said Newman. “The people in Dallas … hope it happens. I’m definitely behind them.”

Next Two for SMU:

• Saturday, March 8 @ Rice, 2 p.m.

• Wednesday, March 12-15, C-USA Tournament @ Memphis, TBA

SMU Basketball Notes:

• Jon Killen has been named to the C-USA All-Academic Team for the second year in a row. Killen, a business management and sociology major, has a GPA of 3.45.

• The Memphis game was SMU’s largest home crowd since Nov. 20, 2001 (8,998 vs. Texas Tech.)

• SMU is 0-7 on the road in conference play this season, with one game left. The last time the Mustangs went winless on the road in league play was 1995-96.