WaPo: SMU finding meaning in lost season

[dcpony]

DALLAS — Amid a weird country, a plucky team conducts a familiar experiment. The Southern Methodist University men’s basketball team tries to wring meaning from a season spent in the glum hallways of the NCAA hoosegow.

Those hallways lead to March 6 at Cincinnati, the Mustangs’ 30th and final game, where the end is dead: no conference or NCAA tournament, a reality since the NCAA ruled SMU unruly last September. So they exert to honor their seniors in the present. As the experience of postseason-banned predecessors like the mighty North Carolina State 1972-73 indicates, the future may well forget them.

Yet curious things have happened. The Mustangs have pleased hoop-addled eyes, not just because that seer Larry Brown coaches them, and not just because their seven remaining scholarship players make a harder puzzle of the new 30-second shot clock. Their likability shows in a plus-11.4 rebounding margin and an outstanding 5-foot-9 point guard, Nic Moore. They won when they made zero three-point shots to Colorado’s 12. They won when they began with zero defensive rebounds against Houston’s 11 offensive rebounds. They stand at No. 13 in the AP rankings.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/spo ... st-season/

[Smulaw90]

Well written piece.

[MoodyMagic]

Legitimately good journalism. great read

[ponyboy]

I've got some goodbumps going after that last sentence. Great article.

[The Falcon]

Thanks for posting. Always nice to get national media attention even after a loss.

Go Mustangs - start another win streak tomorrow night. This team is fun and exciting to
watch.

[max the wonder dog]

Validation -- in today's print edition, the story is on Page 1 of the Sports Section, at the top of the page to the left of the other top story on #10 Providence, who plays Georgetown tonight.

[LA_Mustang]

Great article. Go Georgetown.

[JoeKidd]

Yep, today starts our next winning streak, let's go 'Stangs!

[skyscraper]

Interesting that Larry took time to note the crowd standing and cheering at the end of the final media timeout vs Cincy. That moment still gives me goosebumps