Sporting News
Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 12:59 amLast week's Sporting News had a section called "Biggest Surprises" in its college basketball coverage. It's selection from the WAC:
Southern Methodist
The Mustangs were picked to finish sixth in the league, largely because they lost WAC Player of the Year Quinton Ross after last season. Considering they already have beaten two teams that were ranked in the top 25 (Purdue and Texas Tech), it appears they will have more bite than expected. Still, this is a young, inconsistent team that also has lost to Appalacian State and San Diego. The team's do-everything player is sophomore point guard Bryan Hopkins. Teams are gearing up to stop him. Purdue did so with great success, limiting him to four points, but his layup with 24 seconds left sealed that win. SMU loves to play zone defense. When opponents go cold, the Mustangs have a great chance to win. When SMU runs into a hot-shooting team, its chances diminish greatly.
Southern Methodist
The Mustangs were picked to finish sixth in the league, largely because they lost WAC Player of the Year Quinton Ross after last season. Considering they already have beaten two teams that were ranked in the top 25 (Purdue and Texas Tech), it appears they will have more bite than expected. Still, this is a young, inconsistent team that also has lost to Appalacian State and San Diego. The team's do-everything player is sophomore point guard Bryan Hopkins. Teams are gearing up to stop him. Purdue did so with great success, limiting him to four points, but his layup with 24 seconds left sealed that win. SMU loves to play zone defense. When opponents go cold, the Mustangs have a great chance to win. When SMU runs into a hot-shooting team, its chances diminish greatly.