SMU Men To Play In Gazette Hawkeye Classic
Nov 28 | Men's Basketball
DALLAS (SMU) -- The SMU Men's Basketball team heads to Iowa City, Iowa, this weekend, Nov. 31 - Dec. 1, to play in the Gazette Hawkeye Classic along with Iowa, LaSalle and Alabama State.
SMU and LaSalle open the tournament at 5:30 p.m. CST on Friday, Nov. 30, when the two teams face off in opening-round action.
After falling narrowly to two Big 12 foes, the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Baylor Bears, in its last two outings, SMU returns to the court looking to return to its winning ways against the LaSalle Explorers. Led by NBA prospect Rasual Butler, the Explorers come in on the heels of a 61-58 overtime win over Villanova on Nov. 27, and boasting 3-2 record.
The Mustangs and Explorers have met just once on the hardwood, facing off on Dec. 18, 1976, in the consolation game at the Tennessee Classic in Knoxville, Tenn. LaSalle was a 94-86 winner in the third-place game and the two teams have not met again until this tournament.
SMU is 4-3 all-time versus teams from the A-10, and Coach Mike Dement is 2-0 versus the conference, with a pair of wins over Richmond coming during the 1998-99 & 1999-2000 seasons.
