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SMU Postgame Notes – January 29, 2023
SMU 82, USF 80
SMU (8-14, 3-6 American), USF (9-13, 2-7 American)
David B. Miller Court at Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas

NEXT GAME

At Tulane – Wednesday, February 1 – 8 p.m. CT – Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse – New Orleans, Louisiana
TV: ESPNU
Radio: KAAM 770 AM | Audio Streaming: SMU App (Google Play | Apple App Store)

NOTES

Starters: #1 Zhuric Phelps (G, So.), #2 Jalen Smith (G, So.), #10 Zach Nutall (G, Sr.), #11 Samuell Williamson (F, Sr.), #23 Efe Odigie (F, Sr.)
11th game with this lineup, 5th straight game

SMU plays at USF on Feb. 25

SMU had a season-best 45 first-half points (was 43 vs Tulsa 1/1)
Led 45-33 at halftime

SMU had 5 score in double figures: Keon Ambrose-Hylton (11), Efe Odigie (14), Zhuric Phelps (17), Stefan Todorovic (11), Samuell Williamson (13)
4th time with 5 scoring in double figures, 8th time with 4 or more scoring in double figures
Efe Odigie in double figures for the 8th straight game

Samuell Williamson had a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds)

SMU shot 50.9% from the field, 4th time shooting at least 50%
SMU was 10-23 on 3FGs (tied 2nd-most makes this season); Jalen Smith (3-4), Stefan Todorovic (3-7)

SMU had 7 steals, now has 46 in past 5 games (season-high 12 vs Cincinnati 1/14)
Samuell Williamson (2 - ties career high)

SMU had 24 assists on 29 made FGs (2nd-most assists this season)
Zach Nutall (6), Zhuric Phelps (7 - career high), Jalen Smith (3), Samuell Williamson (4)

SMU RUNS

Two 9-0 runs in the first half
9-0 run to go up 20-11 at 14:31 of the 1st half (Jalen Smith 3FG, then Stefan Todorovic back-to-back 3FGs)
9-0 run to go up 41-26 at 4:47 of the 1st half

Also had a 9-0 run that bridged the halves, taking a 52-33 lead at 18:00 2nd half


ADDITIONAL INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Keon Ambrose-Hylton (#22, Jr., F)
11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocked shots (tied career high)
Entered game averaging 0.7 blocked shots (15th AAC)
4th game this season with multiple blocked shots

Zach Nutall (#10, Sr., G)
7 points, 6 assists, 1 steal
Entered game averaging 13.5 points (16th AAC)
10th game this season with 3+ assists
1-3 on 3FGs, entered game at 31.4% (14th AAC) and 1.9 threes made per game (13th AAC)

Efe Odigie (#23, Sr., F)
14 points
Entered game averaging 10.8 points and 7.1 rebounds (8th AAC)
12th game this season scoring 10+, 8th straight
5-7 on FGs, entered game at 48.6% (13th AAC)
4-7 on FTs, entered game shooting 81.3% (10th AAC)

Zhuric Phelps (#1, So., G) – AAC Player of the Week on Dec. 26, AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Nov. 28
17 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists (career high)
Entered game averaging 17.1 points (5th AAC), 2.2 steals (2nd AAC, 24th NCAA)
18th game this season scoring 10+, 15th game scoring 15+
11th game this season with 3+ assists

Jalen Smith (#2, So., G)
9 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
6th straight game with at least 3 assists
3-4 on 3FGs (tied career high for three made)

Stefan Todorovic (#3, So., F)
11 points
8th time scoring 10+
3-7 on 3FGs (tied career high on threes made)

Samuell Williamson (#11, Sr., F) – AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Jan. 2
13 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Entered game averaging 7.3 rebounds (6th AAC), 1.2 steals (13th AAC), 1.0 blocks (9th AAC)
3rd double-double this season, 8th of his career
8th game this season scoring 10+
Had 11 points in the first half, his season-high for the first period (had 10 in the 1st half vs Tulsa 1/1)
9th game this season with multiple steals
12th game this season with 7+ rebounds, 8th with 10+ rebounds

What is most encouraging to me is the fact these guys had 24 assists on 29 FGs and 5 guys scored in double figures, with Jalen and Zach very close to joining them. If they continue building trust in each other (and stop forcing things way too often) they could still finish as a much more competitive team than we've watched all season. They had a moment in Hawaii with upsets vs Iona and Utah State but it sure would be nice to see some upsets down the stretch in AAC play and possibly into the tournament. That has been a trademark of Lanier's teams at Siena and Georgia State, so I will keep hoping. Reality is that we will probably be underdogs in the next 5 games before ECU comes to Moody

I agree with the thoughts about sharing the ball. While Nutall did some very frustrating things yesterday on some forced passes, he did not force shots the way he had been. Real progress for him. I still think he is good shooter when he takes under control shots. But when he is leaning left, leaning right, etc - he, like every basketball player out there is not a very good shooter.