Jay Bilas Ranks Top 68 Teams in America: SMU #21

[Harry0569]

53. SMU Mustangs

The Mustangs are solid defensively, but a little loose with the ball on the offensive end. With losses against only Virginia and Arkansas, SMU has shown it will be much improved and a factor in the American Athletic Conference this season.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college ... basketball

[Pony ^]

Thanks for posting. Bilas always has some good knowledge.

[Pony ^]

BTW, how cool would it be for college gameday to come to the UCONN game? You never know..

[LA_Mustang]

Hadn't thought about that but why not? I found the 2013-2014 schedule. They have nothing scheduled 1/4. Maybe they will add SMU/UConn.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... -is-strong

[Pony ^]

Hadn't thought about that but why not? I found the 2013-2014 schedule. They have nothing scheduled 1/4. Maybe they will add SMU/UConn.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... -is-strong

Although, with no students it could be kind of blehh

[LA_Mustang]

I guess that's why they don't start gameday until the 18th. Makes sense

[Harry0569]

43. The Mustangs have talent and have executed well, with an offense rated in the top 40 in the country and a defense rated in the top 50, but they turn the ball over too much. SMU ranks 282nd in the country in turnover percentage, and too many of those are opponents' steals.

[Treadway21]

43. The Mustangs have talent and have executed well, with an offense rated in the top 40 in the country and a defense rated in the top 50, but they turn the ball over too much. SMU ranks 282nd in the country in turnover percentage, and too many of those are opponents' steals.

Not sure this deserves its own thread or not, so I thought I would put it here.

The perception of the importance of a game against SMU has changed pretty dramatically this year.

Here is the article written on the SMU Louisville Game from Louisville's Courier Journal. I have pulled out some interesting quotes from the article. The National Champions consider a win at home over SMU a big win. Let that sink in a little.

Louisville takes team approach, beats SMU 71-63 in men's basketball Written by
Jeff Greer

Jan. 13, 2014 | http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20140112/SPORTS02/301120031/Louisville-takes-team-approach-beats-SMU-71-63-men-s-basketball?nclick_check=1

The win put a feather in an awfully lonely Louisville cap. The Cards’ best win to date is a 69-38 thumping of Southern Miss, which was ranked 30th in the NCAA’s first release of RPI ratings.

“There’s no understatement to this — we needed this win bad,” Smith said, though hedging that it’s a bit early to start worrying about quality wins on an NCAA tournament resume.

[Harry0569]

43. The Mustangs have talent and have executed well, with an offense rated in the top 40 in the country and a defense rated in the top 50, but they turn the ball over too much. SMU ranks 282nd in the country in turnover percentage, and too many of those are opponents' steals.

Not sure this deserves its own thread or not, so I thought I would put it here.

The perception of the importance of a game against SMU has changed pretty dramatically this year.

Here is the article written on the SMU Louisville Game from Louisville's Courier Journal. I have pulled out some interesting quotes from the article. The National Champions consider a win at home over SMU a big win. Let that sink in a little.

Louisville takes team approach, beats SMU 71-63 in men's basketball Written by
Jeff Greer

Jan. 13, 2014 | http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20140112/SPORTS02/301120031/Louisville-takes-team-approach-beats-SMU-71-63-men-s-basketball?nclick_check=1

The win put a feather in an awfully lonely Louisville cap. The Cards’ best win to date is a 69-38 thumping of Southern Miss, which was ranked 30th in the NCAA’s first release of RPI ratings.

“There’s no understatement to this — we needed this win bad,” Smith said, though hedging that it’s a bit early to start worrying about quality wins on an NCAA tournament resume.

It started sinking in, and then my mind exploded all over the keyboard. We have come a long way.

[Harry0569]

39. SMU Mustangs (Previous ranking: 43)

Larry Brown can really coach and teach this game. SMU is a good defensive unit, and sport the sixth best defensive field goal percentage in the nation (adjusted) at 42.5 percent. The Ponies have the top 2-point defense in the country, limiting opponents to just 39 percent from inside the arc.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college ... basketball

[max the wonder dog]

I never before thought that an elite defensive team would be fun to watch. Boy was I wrong about that.

[Harry0569]

23. SMU Mustangs (Previous ranking: 39)

The Bilastrator continues to marvel at the job Larry Brown is doing. SMU is 17-5 and has quality win opportunities against Cincinnati, Louisville, SMU and Memphis before the regular season ends. Nic Moore had 14 points and 10 assists in the dismantling of Memphis over the weekend, and Markus Kennedy had 21 points and 15 rebounds, going 10-of-10 from the field.

[SMU Section F]

23. SMU Mustangs (Previous ranking: 39)

Love this. I'm a fan of Bilas, plus it's cool to see the gradual improvement as the season has progressed.

[Pony ^]

23 sounds good to me

[Harry0569]

23. SMU Mustangs (Previous ranking: 39)

Love this. I'm a fan of Bilas, plus it's cool to see the gradual improvement as the season has progressed.

Bilas is by far and away the best in the business.