Prairie View A&M preview

[PonyPride]

This Game:
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M Panthers (1-6)
at
SMU Mustangs (6-1, 0-0 C-USA)
 
Wed. Dec. 13 - 7:00 pm CT
Moody Coliseum (8,998)
Dallas, Texas
Radio: KAAM 770 AM
Internet: Mustang All-Access
 
The SMU Mustangs (6-1) host the Prairie View A&M Panthers (1-6) at Moody Coliseum on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. This is the sixth meeting of these teams with SMU holding a 5-0 lead. Every game has been at Moody Coliseum with the last a 106-70 win on Dec. 17, 1997. The Ponies have won the first four games of this season-long five-game homestand, knocking off Dayton 53-48, Louisiana-Monroe 99-66, Paul Quinn 76-54, and Texas College 79-63. The four-game win streak is the longest since a five-game streak in 2003 from Feb. 22 to Mar. 13. The Mustangs are ninth in the NCAA in FG Percentage Defense, holding opponents to 35.6 percent. Bamba Fall is ninth nationally at 3.4 blocks per game.
 
The Mustangs are No. 9 in the RPI as of December 11 with wins over RPI No. 48 Illinois State (57-55 on 11/12) and RPI No. 41 Dayton (53-48 on 11/18). The Mustangs’ lone loss was at RPI No. 14 Florida State (59-52 on 11/14). SMU’s strength of schedule is ranked 13.
 
C-USA RANKINGS: (Through Dec. 10)                 NCAA
ALL GAMES - INDIVIDUAL                                 Thru D3
Scoring – 8th Ike Ofoegbu 15.6
Rebounding – 2nd Donatas Rackauskas 9.1
            5th Ike Ofoegbu   7.4
Assists- 2nd  Jon Killen   5.43
Steals – 2nd Jon Killen    2.57
Blocked Shots – 2nd Bamba Fall  3.43
ALL GAMES - TEAM
Scoring Def.      2nd        57.0
3Pt. FG Pct. Def. 1st       .280
Blocked Shots   3rd  5.86
 
SMU BREAKS GROUND ON CRUM BASKETBALL CENTER:
Dec. 8 - Mustangs break ground on Crum Basketball Center, a $13 million, 43,000 sq. ft. training center that will be open in the Fall of 2007.
 
AN SMU WIN MEANS: SMU would have a five-game winning streak for the first time since late in the 2002-03 season (Feb. 22 to Mar. 13). Mustangs improve to 7-1, best start since going 8-1 to begin 2000-01; would be 5-0 at home for the first time since starting 10-0 at home in 2000-01.
 
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Mustangs are 4-0 at home this season. This is game five of a season-long five-game homestand. The Mustangs defeated Dayton 53-48, Louisiana-Monroe 99-66, Paul Quinn 76-54, and Texas College 79-63. The homestand concludes against Prairie View A&M (12/13) before a trip to Centenary on Dec. 16. The 4-0 home start is the best since winning the first 10 home games of the 2000-01 season.
 
LAST GAME: DALLAS (AP) -Devon Pearson finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Donatas Rackauskas grabbed 11 rebounds to lead SMU to a 79-63 win over Texas College on Sunday. Four Mustangs (6-1) scored in double figures, led by Pearson. Bamba Fall, coming off the bench, made all seven of his field goal attempts to finish with 17 points in 22 minutes. He added five rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Rackauskas scored 16 and Derrick Roberts added 10 for SMU. Mike Dale led Texas College (1-7) with 20 points. Wilbur Lewis scored 12 points and Rian Powell added 11. Lewis had seven assists, and Jameus Hartsfield had eight rebounds, including five offensive boards. Dale's two 3-pointers were the only ones to fall for Texas College. The Steers shot 11 percent from 3-point range, making 2-of-19. The Mustangs made 8-of-20 3-pointers, and 6-of-9 in the second half. SMU shot 50 percent from the field for the game, and 62 percent in the second half.
 
ON THE AIR: The Mustangs are on KAAM 770 AM in Dallas/Fort Worth. Rich Phillips, Allen Stone, and Jay Poerner bring you all the SMU basketball action and news from around Conference USA.
 
EYE ON THE RPI: The RPI is one of the principal components the NCAA selection committee uses to determine the field for the NCAA Men's Tournament. It has three primary components. It does not include non-Division I opponents in SMU’s record (Paul Quinn and Texas College)
Part I (25% of the formula): Team winning percentage.
Part II (50%): Average opponents' winning percentage.
Part III (25%): Average opponents' opponents' winning percentage.
The Mustangs reached No. 7 in the RPI on Dec. 8
                                                SOS     1-50      51-100  101-200 201+     Non Conference L10       R/N
Rnk      Conf      W-L      SOS     W-L      W-L      W-L      W-L      W-L      RPI       SOS     W-L      W-L
9          SMU     C-USA  4-1        13         2-1        0-0        1-0        1-0        4-1        9          17         4-1        2-1
14         Florida State      ACC     8-2        L, 59-52 on 11/14/06
41         Dayton  A-10     8-1        W, 53-48 on 11/18/06
48         Illinois State      MVC     6-3        W, 57-55 on 11/12/06
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Devon Pearson entered the season with 11 career double-doubles, which was the most by an active player in C-USA. He was the only current Mustang with any entering 2006-07. Pearson had nine in 2005-06.
2006-07 Double-Doubles
Player   Stats    Opponent          Season Career
Ike Ofoegbu       26 pts, 10 rebs  La-Monroe 11/22            1st        1st
Devon Pearson  19 pts, 10 rebs  Texas College 12/3        1st        12th
 
OUR FTM IS MORE THAN YOUR FTA: Head coach Matt Doherty sets a goal for the Mustangs to make more free throws than the opponent attempts. Here is a look at the season to date.
            SMU     Opp                  Goal     Result
11/12    18-25    7-9        vs. Illinois State Yes      W, 57-55
11/13    10-17    3-4        vs. McNeese State         Yes      W, 70-54
11/14    7-9        13-18    at Florida State  No        L, 59-52
11/18    27-40    12-24    Dayton  Yes      W, 53-48
11/22    15-22    15-19    Louisiana-Monroe           No        W, 99-66
11/27    20-24    12-19    Paul Quinn        Yes      W, 76-54
12/3      13-22    9-10      Texas College    Yes      W, 79-63
Season 110-159 71-103  YES     Yes 5-0 / No 1-1
 
HONORS:
Colonial Classic All-Tournament (SMU went 2-1)
            Jon Killen (10.7 points, 5.4 assists, 3.3 steals)
            Ike Ofoegbu (14.0 points, 6.7 rebounds)