SMU gets to play on its home floor for the first time in 27 days when it hosts Central Arkansas on Sunday afternoon in Dallas.
The Mustangs (9-2) have lost two of their last three after opening the season 8-0. The latest setback was an 89-77 loss to LSU in the Compete 4 Cause Classic in New Orleans on Dec. 13.
“We just did not defend at a high enough level,” SMU coach Andy Enfield said. “We deserved to lose this game. They played better than us.”
LSU scored 50 points in the paint and shot 62.1% from the field, something that Enfield said must improve for SMU going forward.
“We need to go back and get better as a basketball team,” Enfield said.
SMU returns to its home floor, where it’s 7-0, for the first time since Nov. 24. Boopie Miller, who had 16 points in the loss to LSU, leads the Mustangs and ranks fourth in the ACC with 20.2 points per game.
Other Mustangs of note include Jaron Pierre Jr., who averages 19.2 points and 5.5 rebounds, and Corey Washington, who averages 12.9 points and 6.5 rebounds.
Central Arkansas (5-7), meanwhile, hopes to come in with momentum following its 102-47 victory over Kansas Christian of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) on Wednesday.
The Bears had 55 rebounds and forced 25 turnovers. Camren Hunter led the team with 19 points in 19 minutes. Hunter, who’s back after spending a season at Wisconsin, leads the team with 16.3 points per game followed by Ty Robinson’s 12.2.
Central Arkansas coach John Shulman praised his team’s efforts, particularly pulling down 21 offensive rebounds.
“If we know we’re going to miss shots, we might as well go to the offensive glass,” he said. “Getting 21 offensive boards is great today, that needs to be our identity. I thought we did a decent job (on the offensive glass) at Vanderbilt (on Dec. 13). Let’s see if we can do it at SMU.”
The last time these teams met was on Nov. 28, 2010, when SMU won 76-72 in Dallas.
–Field Level Media
