SMU will aim to return to the win column on Saturday afternoon when it plays at struggling North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C.
The Mustangs (14-5, 5-3 ACC) are tied for fifth place in their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference but saw their three-game win streak snapped on Tuesday when they lost at home to No. 25 Louisville, 98-73. Three SMU players scored in double figures — with Matt Cross leading the way with 18 points — but leading scorer Boopie Miller (14.3 points per game) shot just 2-of-12 from the floor for seven points as the Cardinals put the clamps on him.
It was the second-worst shooting performance of the year for Miller, who has experience playing in Raleigh and other ACC venues as he spent last season at Wake Forest. The last time Miller played at NC State (9-9, 2-5), he made 15 of 15 free throws and dished out four assists in a seven-point loss for the Demon Deacons.
Miller has had an affinity for heroics this season, making a game-winner at Virginia and posting a double-double in a win at Miami, but he was ineffective against Louisville.
What also hurt SMU was allowing Louisville to knock down 19 3-pointers, the most the Mustangs have allowed to any team this season.
“I think at some point, pride has to set in for all of us. That’s not pointing fingers — that’s me (Tuesday), that’s every single person on the team,” said Cross, who also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds in the loss. “It’s next-game mentality… It’s a good league.”
Against NC State, SMU likely won’t have to worry about the Wolfpack hurting them so badly from behind the arc. NC State makes just 5.8 3-pointers per game this season, leaving them tied for 337th nationally.
The Wolfpack are coming off their third straight defeat, and fifth in their last six games, after losing 65-62 at home to Cal last Saturday. NC State made just one shot from deep in that loss. It was also the fifth time this season that NC State lost a game by four points or fewer.
“There’s a point in every game that I think you as coaches, you say, ‘I mean, are we doing everything to beat ourselves?’ … We’ve just got to finish situations,” NC State coach Kevin Keatts said. “And some of it is we just didn’t finish the game the way we needed to. And some of it was the other team made a few more plays than we did. I think we need to get a little bit sharper offensively.”
Marcus Hill averages 13.2 points per game, while Jayden Taylor posts 12.8 points per game. When NC State made its surprising run to the Final Four last season, it had four players averaging double figures in scoring.
–Field Level Media
