The top-seeded SMU Mustangs welcome the Northern Iowa Panthers to Dallas on Wednesday night for opening-round action in the National Invitational Tournament.
SMU (23-10) fell from the NCAA Tournament picture after playing .500 basketball for the regular season’s final month. The Mustangs did not win or lose consecutive games over their last 10, including a 57-54 loss to Clemson in the ACC tournament quarterfinals last Thursday.
Despite falling short of the NCAAs, SMU reached its highest win total since 2021-22. This is also the fifth time in the last six seasons that first-year Mustangs head coach Andy Enfield led a team to at least 22 wins.
“It’s been a lot of fun to coach these young men,” Enfield said following SMU’s ACC tournament loss. “They grew as a team. They grew as individuals. We’re a pretty good basketball team right now.”
SMU relies on a balanced offense with six scorers averaging between 9.8 points per game and guard Boopie Miller’s team-leading 13.2. The Mustangs average 80 points per game, enough to rank in the nation’s top 40.
With a team 3-point shooting percentage of 37.6, SMU begins the postseason ranked No. 24 nationally from long range. Chuck Harris has drained 2.2 shots from beyond the arc per game, on 5.2 attempts, to lead the Mustangs.
Northern Iowa (20-12) plays its first game in almost two weeks, last taking the court on March 7 in a 64-63 loss to Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. Tytan Anderson scored 22 points to lead the Panthers in a comeback from as many as 19 points down before falling short.
Despite the conference tournament setback, Northern Iowa reached 20 wins for the first time since 2021-22.
The Panthers’ NIT appearance is their first since 2022 and third in program history. They reached the second round in both 2012 and 2022.
Anderson, a senior forward, leads Northern Iowa in scoring (15.5 points per game) and rebounding (6.5). Center Jacob Huston averages 11.7 points per game, while guards Trey Campbell and Ben Schweiger put up 11.2 and 10 points per game.
The quartet is responsible for nearly two-thirds of Northern Iowa’s 73.6 points per game. The four are especially key with guard Leon Bond III (9.6 points per game) limited in his two appearances since returning from a knee injury sustained in January that was initially feared to be season-ending.
How much Bond factors into the lineup for Wednesday’s contest could be a noteworthy development following Northern Iowa’s extended layoff.
“I liked being able to get him two- (and three)-minute stretches to get him into the game and get the feel of it again,” Panthers coach Ben Jacobson said of getting Bond into the lineup at the end of the regular season.
–Field Level Media
