The matchup between SMU and No. 17 Vanderbilt might not receive the attention of some other games in the ACC/SEC Challenge, but this clash looks plenty formidable.
The teams, both with 8-0 records, will face off Wednesday night at Nashville, Tenn.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Vanderbilt guard Duke Miles said. “We’re trying to get to the end goal and March to be out there playing for a national championship, so that’s the main goal.”
Vanderbilt is fresh off of toppling Saint Mary’s, then an 8-0 team, in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
SMU stayed unbeaten with an 87-81 overtime escape Friday at Mississippi State. The Mustangs have won their first eight games in a season for the first time in six years and have claimed 13 consecutive regular-season non-conference games.
However, SMU coach Andy Enfield said: “We’re still a work in progress.”
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt’s offensive production has reached high levels. So much so that the 96-71 final against Saint Mary’s marked the most points allowed by the Gaels in coach Randy Bennett’s 25 seasons.
The Commodores have reached the 90-point mark in six games this season, led by Miles at averages of 18.8 points and 4.8 assists per game. Vanderbilt is making 11.8 shots from 3-point range per game while allowing fewer than eight 3s per game.
“The reason why we’re scoring is because we’re sharing the ball and making good decisions,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said.
Miles was the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament’s Most Valuable Player, while Jalen Washington, a transfer from North Carolina, scored a career-high 19 points vs. Saint Mary’s.
“When you have everybody believing in you and cheering you on, it just makes the games just come to you and makes you do everything so freely,” Miles said.
Washington, who’s shooting 61.9% from the field, has hit his stride with his new team.
“My teammates and the coaching staff, they just instill so much confidence in me, no matter how I’m doing,” Washington said. “If I’m doing well, they want me to keep going, keep getting better. If I’m not doing as well as I want to, or as I may expect, they tell me to keep going, getting better. So it’s constantly reinforcing just a positive attitude, a positive outlook and just looking forward.”
SMU guard Boopie Miller has 28 points in two different games this season. He has a streak of 16 games with a double-figure point total.
The Mississippi State game might have been a good tune-up for the Mustangs before they travel to another SEC road environment.
“Really proud of a tough road win in a tough place to play,” Enfield said. “Really proud of our guys; they stuck tough.”
Enfield said he hopes the game against Mississippi State, combined with a two-point victory on Nov. 15 against Butler, are signs that the Mustangs can thrive under pressure.
SMU’s 3-point production has been tame compared to Vanderbilt’s scoring beyond the arc. The Mustangs have connected on 60 shots from 3-point range and allowed 66 of those baskets.
–Field Level Media
