Thoughts on tonight

[LA_Mustang]

This was possibly the best game I have seen SMU play under Dement. 22-24 from the line...are you kidding me? 54% from the field. We showed toughness and made key defensive stops down the stretch. It was just a solid game all around. Hopkins was sensational. That is the closest he has been to his old self. It was obvious he was the most talented player on the court. Ross, Simpson, Castro, and Kelley all played very well. This was a very good night for SMU basketball.

[Guest]

I totally agree. Major congratulations to the boys for this win. Despite a very good effort from Rice (Mance was out of his mind!), we never panicked or really melted down the way we have in the past. A huge road win! We moved on offense, found the open men, and most importantly got off to a good start. I'm not sure what got into them but I hope they keep it up.

Everyone played very well, and Hopkins keeps getting better each game. He hit most of our "big" shots, especially that three from right in front of Dement that answered one of Mance's threes when they were making their run. I'm betting we'll see him break away for one of his patented dunks on the next homestand. He is so close to getting back to his old self. This was truly a TEAM effort.

We're going to need a similar effort, if not better, to beat Tulsa. We've never won in the Reynolds Center so it will be key to get off to a good start again. I hope the guys now realize that it is going to take this kind of effort every game, especially on the road. This is what we've been missing all season. They definitely found something to build on. Now it's time to find a little consistentcy and keep building on this momentum.

[Charleston Pony]

Was great to see the Ponies work the ball for good looks and a high shooting percentage. It's also nice to play road games in places where there is very little fan support. Other than the sight lines, Rice has no particular home court advantage. We need Moody to become a more hostile territory for our visitors.

[sammytheowl]

Great, great game by the Ponies tonight. It was similar to the 10-minute stretch that Tulsa put on us the 2nd half of that game but you guys kept it up the entire game. Hopkins was incredibly impressive and Ross was really good too, especially on the offensive rebounding side of the ball.

I was a little disappointed that SMU shot 15 free throws (and made all of them) in the 2nd half compared to Rice's 0. But I think for the most part the game was well-officiated. SMU just wanted this game more than Rice from the get-go and the Owls played some horrendous defense at times (Castro has about 5 back-door layups that were uncontested).

Congrats on the win. Maybe SMU should take a page out of the Rice playbook though and play at a faster pace because at that speed, they're clearly the better team.

[Pony_Fan]

18 ASSISTS and 13 TO's - that makes such a HUGE difference and makes us play like a team.

When is the last time we had that many assists?? Hopkins had 2 beauties...we need more of that to play at this level.