SMU’s unbeaten home record will be tested on Saturday afternoon as No. 16 Virginia visits Dallas for an Atlantic Coast Conference clash.
The Mustangs (13-4, 2-2 ACC) improved to 11-0 at Moody Coliseum in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night when Boopie Miller’s heroic, half-court heave beat the buzzer for a 77-76 victory against Virginia Tech.
Miller scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half to lead four SMU players in double figures. Samet Yigitoglu had 14 points, Jaron Pierre Jr. added 13 points and nine rebounds and Jaden Toombs had 12 points and 10 boards off the bench.
Miller played 35 minutes against the Hokies despite overcoming an illness and posted his ninth 20-point game of the season.
“We just had to keep him in there because we had no chance to win without him,” Mustangs coach Andy Enfield told the Dallas Morning News. “Of course, he delivered.”
The Cavaliers (15-2, 4-1) didn’t need any such late-game heroics last time out, scoring the first 14 points of the game in Tuesday night’s wire-to-wire 79-70 road win at No. 20 Louisville.
“Clearly, the start really helped us,” first-year Virginia coach Ryan Odom said. “When you’re on the road in a hostile environment, a great place like Louisville, getting off to a good start is imperative, and we got off to a good start on both sides of the ball.
“Obviously, you can’t win a game 14-0. You have to play the entire game. And I thought our guys did a really nice job throughout of answering the majority of the challenges that came our way.”
Virginia won its fourth straight game and improved to 3-1 on the road as Malik Thomas scored 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point range and Johann Grunloh added 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
Expect a shootout Saturday, as SMU leads the ACC with 88.4 points per game (on 50.1% shooting) and Virginia ranks sixth with 84.7 points per game. The Mustangs have scored 90-plus points eight times and the Cavaliers have scored at least 80 in 13 games.
The Cavaliers’ 3-point shooting could determine the outcome. Eight different players have made at least 10 triples this season and Virginia enters with 178 makes from behind the arc on 37.0% shooting, compared to their opponents’ 110 treys on 28.6% shooting.
Thijs De Ridder leads the balanced Cavaliers with 16.0 points per game. Seven different players have led the team in scoring in at least one game, and eight have scored at least 16 points in a game.
All five starters are scoring in double figures for the Mustangs, with Miller leading the team in points (20.8) and assists (7.1) and Pierre adding 17.2 points and 5.1 rebounds. B.J. Edwards averages 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.5 steals.
SMU swept both meetings last season, winning 63-51 at home and 54-52 in Charlottesville, Va.
With a victory on Saturday, Virginia would surpass its win total from last season (15-17) under interim head coach Ron Sanchez.
–Field Level Media
