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As someone who graduated in 2007 and sat through the revolving door of Dement/Tubbs/Doherty, it is still surreal to me to see SMU mentioned as a Final Four contenter. Surreal.

That said, I look back to two years ago and there were many of the same sentiments - expected to win in the first round with the opportunity to advance to the second weekend. That idea became even more real when we arrived in Louisville and saw UAB upset Iowa State in the 3v14 game before we played UCLA.

What is it about this team that makes you feel differently? For me, in 2015, it was all so new and we were just happy to be there. My experience in Louisville that day was like spending a glorious day at Disneyland only to have Mickey meet you at the exit, kick you in the balls, and steal your wallet. Between that and the 2016 ban I haven't felt the same about the NCAA tournament since. This year, I feel like this team is on a mission and won't panic in a close game.

I really, really want this team to break through the malaise and vindicate this fan base. Just winning the first game would go a long way to doing that. Rant over.

Absolutely. I am not sucking the koolaid, and neither are the players. SMU has not WON a tourney game since 1988. None of our players were close to being alive.

I guarantee this team is focused on executing offense and defense on Friday only right now.

GoMustAAngs2007 wrote:
What is it about this team that makes you feel differently? For me, in 2015, it was all so new and we were just happy to be there. My experience in Louisville that day was like spending a glorious day at Disneyland only to have Mickey meet you at the exit, kick you in the balls, and steal your wallet. Between that and the 2016 ban I haven't felt the same about the NCAA tournament since. This year, I feel like this team is on a mission and won't panic in a close game.

The sheer volume of turds that this program has been forced to consume since tipoff of the UCLA game 2 years ago. The chip on the shoulder is so much bigger. And the lesson taught that day was to take nothing for granted.

The fact that we aren't playing a 'blue blood' in the first round.

The fact that our coach, hopefully, won't have the flu during the game. Not a wholesale excuse, but I think that aspect gets overlooked from the UCLA game as time passes.

We don't have a center tall enough to nab that goaltending call at the end of a game???

I also think this team is better prepared then the 2015 team--we can break the press and know how to pass away from traps.

deucetz wrote:I also think this team is better prepared then the 2015 team--we can break the press and know how to pass away from traps.

We only learned to break presses after the UCF game

I actually agree. This team is much more mature than 2015. Not taking a thing away for the 2015 team. They had a great year but had never been to the NCAA tourney. This team has players with post season experience including the NCAA. That experience has added to the maturity of this team.

In the pass, when a team hits an incredible number of surreal 3s like UCF did (and Temple and Tulsa last year), we folded under the pressure. Not so this year. We withstood the incredible luck and found a way to win.

GoMustAAngs2007 wrote:What is it about this team that makes you feel differently?

Fair or not, my expectations are higher. UCLA in Louisville was heartbreaking, but I was still ecstatic that I got to sit in the stands and watch my Mustangs play on the floor with a giant NCAA logo. This year, I'll definitely be disappointed if we don't make it past the first round.

Also, in 2015 we deserved a 6 seed, but in 2017 we should have been a 4 (or at least 5). That means we have a more to prove, in my not-so-humble opinion.

In 2015 my expectation was to win a game and Sweet 16 after the upset in our bracket. This year with some good breaks I expect Elite Eight and have a good feeling about us winning the national championship. We have 4 chronological seniors on the team, 3 of which are starters. Two of our players are solid NBA prospects. Our coach is poised, the team is talented and hungry. Time to make it happen.

I've had this gut feeling since about midway through the season as we started to really turn it on that we were really an Elite 8 quality team. I didn't have delusions of grandeur that with 6 guys we could make it through 6 games and win the natty without encountering injuries, foul trouble or a hot hand that cannot be stopped, but this just feels like that caliber of squad.

What has only bolstered that for me the last few weeks has been watching Sterling take that final step in his game. He was always a solid defender, an awesome rebounder and a competitor of the first order. But watching those pull up jumpers in the last few games really told me he had added crunch time chops to his resume. Since I already felt like Semi could be our go to guy, it was exciting to think we might have options at the end of the game when we need a bucket to win/tie.

The 2015 team didn't feel like it truly had that crunch time guy other than Nic, so you could almost mug him at the end and force someone else to beat you. We have 2 guys I would trust in the final 15 seconds to create their own shot (Semi and Sterling), and 3 guys I would trust to hit the big shot off of the ball rotation (Semi, Sterling and Shake) and you could almost convince me to include Jarrey in that group.

The play from 2015 that almost haunts me as much as the goal tend is the failed pass from Cannen to Ryan. Outside of the ECU tourney game, I trust all of our guys to make the right decision when facing the press more than the 2015 team.

Side note: Is Jank telling them that we have timeouts if we get in trouble in the press late in the game (I assume he is)? That drove me crazy when we would have 3 timeouts left with 2 minutes to go and never think of using them to escape a trap.

Sorry for the essay.

PS one of my favorite plays of 2017 was the other night when we rotated the ball completely around the half court to Ben E, then he faked right, crossed over to his left and then confidently nailed a 3 in rhythm. What a weapon that becomes if he can make the other team respect his shot.

I agree with pretty much everything already said in this thread.

This team is special.

Buckle up.

Here we go.