Men's basketball travels to Indiana State for NIT opener

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Earn NIT Bid, Will Visit Indiana State In First Round

INDIANAPOLIS (NCAA/NIT) - The SMU men's basketball team earned a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, the tournament committee announced on Sunday night. The Mustangs visit No. 1 seed Indiana State in the first round at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. (CT) Wednesday. The date and time are still to be determined.

SMU earned its sixth postseason berth in the past 11 seasons, including two NCAA bids and four NITs. The Mustangs made a run to the 2014 NIT championship game, were a No. 3 seed in the 16-team 2021 NIT field and were a No. 1 seed in the 2022 NIT.

The Mustangs enter the tournament with a 20-12 record. SMU was 11-7 in American Athletic Conference play. Indiana State (28-6) won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title and made the MVC Tournament title game.

The winner of SMU and Indiana State will take on the winner of No. 4 seed Butler and Minnesota in the second round of the NIT.

For tickets and other game information, visit SMUMustangs.com/gameday.

[PonyPride]

Projected by many to earn an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, the Sycamores earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT, thanks to a 28-6 record (17-3 in Missouri Valley Conference games).

The team known best as the program that produced Larry Bird enters the NIT with five players averaging double digits in scoring:

• Sophomore center Robbie Avila (6-10, 240): 17.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 51/126 (40.5%) 3FG, 122 assists, team-high 23 blocked shots
• Junior guard Isaiah Swope (5-10, 170): 16.5 PPG, 70 assists, 43 steals
• Sophomore guard Ryan Conwell (6-4, 195): 16.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 76 assists, 36 steals
• Junior forward Jayson Kent (6-8, 205): 12.9 PPG, team-high 8.1 RPG, team-high .622 FG%
• Junior guard Julian Larry (6-3, 185 ... from Frisco, Texas): 10.7 PPG, team-high 160 assists, team-high 49 steals

The Mustangs need to defend without fouling whenever possible: of the players listed above, Swope's .737 shooting from the free throw line is the lowest of the five. As a team, the Sycamores have shot .797 from the line (for comparison, the Ponies have shot .684 on free throws).

Th Sycamores are 2-1 in the postseason. They beat Missouri State (75-59) and Northern Iowa (94-72) before falling, 84-80, to Drake in the MVC tournament final.

[Charleston Pony]

The 5 P5 conferences and the Big East got 12 auto bids. We went 2-2 against teams from those conferences, losing to A$M and Wisconsin and beating West Virginia & Florida State. Indiana State lost the only 2 games they played against those conferences (losing to Alabama & Michigan State). ISU went 1-4 against teams that made the NCAA Tourney, beating Drake at home. SMU went 1-5 against NCAA Tourney teams beating UAB at home. I just hope Harris is "healed" enough to play well and we can be competitive. Will be interesting to see how hard and well our guys play after finishing so poorly in the regular season and AAC Tourney

[indianmustang]

view from other side
https://sycamorepride.com/threads/march ... 868/page-2

[indianmustang]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... indiana-st

[Hop Sing]

I’m glad they get another chance to end this season on a high note, but I’m not very optimistic. Having lost 5 of their last 6 they are literally limping into a very tough away game.

[PonyPride]

Now there are reports surfacing that Indiana State head coach Josh Schertz may be nearing a deal to jump ship to accept the head coaching gig at St. Louis.

[PonyTime]

Based on their board it looks like their coaching staff has one foot out the door. And perhaps some of their players as well. Maybe we will catch an unfocused team.

[mustangxc]

Two unfocused teams. The silver lining is that it will be on ESPN+ so 50 people will watch.

[BUS]

Dropped Plus

[Arkpony]

I e still got it BUS. I’ll let you know this weekend if we won.

[smubrooks]

I know hating is the flavor of the day, but we have good defense and at times good guard play so a NIT run isn’t out of the question. For next year I think we need an injection of players with a killer mentality and perhaps Lanier needs an offensive minded assistant. Don’t know NIL numbers but I assume we could grab a few studs with the ACC move.

[Charleston Pony]

I know hating is the flavor of the day, but we have good defense and at times good guard play so a NIT run isn’t out of the question. For next year I think we need an injection of players with a killer mentality and perhaps Lanier needs an offensive minded assistant. Don’t know NIL numbers but I assume we could grab a few studs with the ACC move.

I agree that anything is possible and pretty consistently this year when Harris, Phelps and Williamson shoot well this team can be really hard to beat. The problem is that it's rare for all of those guys to be "on" at the same time. As for an improved roster for next year, right now we have no 'ships to give (assuming all eligible players return) so we'll just have to wait and see how this season ends and whether there is any significant roster turnover before next year.

[mustangxc]

This team is capable. That's why I am so critical of them. The issue is that they have mentally checked out. Can they re-engage?

[geezerdonk]

So the humiliation, ignominy and futility of the regular season and the postseason tournament aren’t enough. Pile more on to cement SMU’s position as the laughingstock of intercollegiate athletics.