SMU Basketball hosts No. 13 Texas A&M

SMU (3-0) vs [13/15] Texas A&M (2-0)
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
Tuesday, November 14, 2023 – 7:00 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Radio: KAAM 770 AM | Audio Streaming: SMU App (Google Play | Apple App Store)
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The Mustangs host [13/15] Texas A&M on Tuesday to finish a season-opening four-game homestand. SMU is 3-0 with an average margin of 22.3 points in wins over SAGU (82-63), Western Illinois (90-53) and Lamar (78-67).

The Mustangs have five scorers averaging at least eight points in Zhuric Phelps (13.7), Chuck Harris (12.0), Tyreek Smith (11.3), Keon Ambrose-Hylton (10.0) and Samuell Williamson (8.0). Smith is leading in rebounds (8.7) followed by Ambrose-Hylton (6.7) and Williamson (6.3). B.J. Edwards has team bests of 3.3 steals and 5.7 assists per game (17 assists / 1 turnover) while also grabbing 5.3 rebounds. SMU is leading the AAC in steals (13.0, 10th NCAA), blocked shots (6.3), offensive rebounds (17.3) and fast-break points (20.7) while ranking second in scoring defense (61.0), scoring margin (22.3), rebound margin (11.3) and turnover margin (7.3).

The Mustangs return three starters in Zhuric Phelps (preseason All-AAC Second Team), Samuell Williamson and Jalen Smith plus a transfer class ranked as high as No. 2 in The American. In August of 2023, the Mustangs went on a 10-day trip to Spain, going 3-0 with games in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. The team visited several historic sites including Madrid’s Mercado de San Miguel, Plaza Mayor and Royal Palace as well a tour of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid, the Port of Valencia and a tour at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

LAST GAME (W, 78-67 vs Lamar on Nov. 9): DALLAS — — Chuck Harris had 18 points in SMU’s 78-67 win against Lamar on Thursday night. Harris was 4 of 9 shooting, including 1 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 9 for 9 from the line for the Mustangs (3-0). Tyreek Smith added 13 points while shooting 3 of 4 from the field and 7 for 9 from the line, and he also had seven rebounds and four blocks. Emory Lanier had 11 points and was 3 of 5 shooting (3 for 4 from 3-point range). Cody Pennebaker led the way for the Cardinals (1-1) with 13 points and seven rebounds. Chris Pryor added 10 points for Lamar. Ja’Sean Jackson also put up nine points and two steals.

UP NEXT: The Mustangs play in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off Nov. 20-22. The Mustangs face West Virginia on Monday before facing Virginia or Wisconsin on Wednesday. SMU follows that with three straight home games beginning with ULM on Nov. 26. 

MUSTANGS GO 3-0 IN SPAIN: SMU men’s basketball finished 3-0 on its three-game exhibition tour in Spain. The Mustangs won 88-77 in Madrid, 125-66 in Valencia and 92-60 in Barcelona. For the three games, the Mustangs shot 50.2% from the field, averaged 15.7 steals and had a plus-21.7 rebound margin (55.7-34.0). Samuell Williamson averaged 16.0 points to lead the team in scoring, while pulling down 6.3 rebounds per game and shooting 62.5% (20-32). Zhuric Phelps added 15.7 points per game while totaling seven assists and six steals in the three contests. Tennessee transfer B.J. Edwards led with 6.0 assists per game while also averaging 5.3 points and 6.0 rebounds with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.  Edwards nearly had a triple-double (10 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) in the game in Valencia. Jalen Smith averaged 8.3 points and finished with seven assists against zero turnovers while knocking down two of his five three point tries. Georgia State transfer Ja’Heim Hudson contributed 9.3 points and 7.0 rebounds, recording his tour-best 12 boards in the final contest. Butler transfer Chuck Harris scored 11.0 per game and averaged 2.0 assists while hitting 5-of-6 on free throws. Oklahoma State transfer Tyreek Smith a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game with 6.7 points. Georgetown transfer Denver Anglin added 6.7 point and an assist per outing. Xavier Foster had a team-high four blocked shots in the three games while adding 4.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per matchup. Keon Ambrose-Hylton shot 56.3% from the field (9-16) while averaging 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds. Ricardo Wright added 5.3 points and 1.3 assists. Mo Njie contributed 3.0 rebounds, including his tour-best seven in the win in Valencia. Emory Lanier had eight points, five assists and two steals for the trip. Jackson Young knocked down a pair of threes in Barcelona. Trey Utter scored in his first appearance in the victory in Valencia.

2022-23 IN REVIEW: SMU finished 10-22 in the first season under Head Coach Rob Lanier, playing 14 games decided by six points or less (5-9). The Mustangs played in the championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, falling to Hawaii 58-57 on a buzzer-beater. Zhuric Phelps earned an AAC Player of the Week honor, three AAC Weekly Honor Roll nods and a spot on the Diamond Head Classic All-Tournament Team. Samuell Williamson earned one AAC Weekly Honor Roll. Zhuric Phelps averaged a team-best 17.5 points (6th AAC). Phelps also averaged 3.2 assists (11th AAC) and 2.3 steals (1st AAC, 16th NCAA). Zach Nutall was second for the Mustangs scoring 13.2 per game (19th AAC). He made 2.0 threes per game (13th AAC). Efe Odigie added 11.3 points, Samuell Williamson 9.3 per game. Williamson led the Mustangs at 7.3 rebounds (6th AAC) followed by Odigie at 6.9 (9th AAC). Odigie and Williamson each had six double-doubles (T-6th AAC). Williamson averaged 1.4 steals (11th AAC) and 0.8 blocks per game (14th AAC). 

THE SCHEDULE: The non-conference schedule is highlighted by home games against Dayton and [13/15] Texas A&M, road match-ups with Arizona State and Florida State plus the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off with West Virginia, [rv/rv] Wisconsin and [rv/25] Virginia. SMU will play five AAC opponents twice: ECU, [rv/rv] Memphis, North Texas, Tulane and UAB. The Mustangs will play home games only against Charlotte, Temple, Tulsa and UTSA, and play road games only versus [10/10] Florida Atlantic, Rice, South Florida and Wichita State. The American Men’s Basketball Championship is March 13-17 (Wednesday-Sunday) at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

PORTAL POWER: 247 Sports ranked SMU as the No. 42 transfer class and the No. 2 class in the American Athletic Conference (Memphis). The transfers inculded two ranked as four-star (B.J. Edwards – Tennessee, Chuck Harris – Butler) and three as three-star (Denver Anglin – Georgetown, Ja’Heim Hudson – Georgia State, Tyreek Smith – Oklahoma State) additions.

STEALING THE SHOW: Zhuric Phelps has 101 career steals, which is 27th at SMU. He had 68 steals in 2022-23, averaging 2.3 per game (1st AAC, 16th NCAA). That was fifth in a season at SMU. Phelps had a career-high 7 steals at Wichita State on Feb. 12, which tied for third in a game at SMU and was the most since Nic Moore had 7 vs Texas Southern 11/26/2014. Phelps also had 6 at Tulsa on Jan. 18 as well as 5 against Cincinnati on Jan. 14 and five at USF on Feb. 25.

THE SERIES VS TEXAS A&M (91-88 / 90-88 +): This is the 180th meeting between the two schools with
SMU holding a 91-88 on-court advantage. The Mustangs went 85-81 in league games when the two programs played in the Southwest Conference. SMU took home third-place in the Corpus Christi Challenge (55-52) the last time the teams met on Nov. 30, 2013. (+ Win in 2013-14 vacated)

LAST SEASON VS TEXAS A&M (L, 83-64 at Texas A&M on Nov. 30) COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Henry Coleman III scored 12 of his 23 points in the second half when Texas A&M pulled away to beat SMU 83-64 on Wednesday night in a rare meeting between former Southwest Conference rivals. Wade Taylor IV added 13 points and a career-high nine assists, and Julius Marble had 10 points for the Aggies (5-2), who won their third straight game. Zhuric Phelps scored 23 points with five 3-pointers for the Mustangs (3-4). Samuell Williamson and Stefan Todorovic added 10 points each. A three-point play by Williamson got the Mustangs within five in the second half before a 15-2 run by the Aggies. Manny Obaseki and Coleman had four points apiece in the run and Taylor capped it with a 3-pointer to lead 67-49 with 8:50 remaining. The lead grew to as many as 24. The Aggies, after shooting just 33% in the first half, hit 50% in the second. They scored 24 points off 19 SMU turnovers, including 11 steals. Texas A&M led 45-36 at halftime despite 17 points from Phelps. The Aggies built a 12-point lead with three minutes remaining in the half after a 16-5 run led by seven points from Coleman. This was just the fourth meeting between the former Southwest Conference rivals since the league disbanded in 1996. The teams have been meeting since 1918 with SMU leading the series 91-88.

SMU press release.