Men's Basketball Hits The Road, At Centenary On Saturday
Dec 14 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2006
The SMU Mustangs (7-1) play just their second road game of the season when they visit the Centenary Gents (4-5) at the Gold Dome in Shreveport, La., on Saturday Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. The Mustangs only road game is a 59-52 loss at Florida State on Nov. 14. The Mustangs have played two neutral-site games and just completed a sweep of their five-game homestand. SMU holds a 10-2 series advantage, including an 85-67 victory in Dallas last season on Nov. 22.
The Mustangs are ninth in the NCAA as of Dec. 10 in FG Percentage Defense, holding opponents to 35.6 percent. Bamba Fall's 3.25 blocks per game are second in Conference USA and ninth nationally. Jon Killen is second in Conference USA in assists (5.63) and steals (2.50). That ranks him 36th nationally in assists and 28th nationally in steals.
As of Dec. 14, the Mustangs are No. 24 in the RPI and No. 40 in the Sagarin ratings.
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 six-game winning streak for the first time since a seven-game stretch during the 1999-2000 season (Dec. 3, to Dec. 23). Mustangs improve to 8-1, which would match the 8-1 to begin 2000-01. The next mark is an 11-1 to start the 1999-2000 season. The Mustangs are currently 5-0 at home, which is the best since starting 10-0 at home in 2000-01.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Mustangs are 5-0 at home this season. The Mustangs defeated Dayton 53-48, Louisiana-Monroe 99-66, Paul Quinn 76-54, Texas College 79-63, and Prairie View A&M 68-51 in the season-long five-game homestand from Nov. 18 to Dec. 13. The 5-0 home start is the best since winning the first 10 home games of the 2000-01 season.
LAST GAME: DALLAS (AP) - Donatas Rackauskas hit 10-of-12 shots from the field for a career-high 21 points in SMU's 68-51 win over Prairie View A&M on Wednesday night. Ike Ofoegbu added 14 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and had a career-best three blocks for the Mustangs (7-1). The Mustangs won their fifth straight, all at home, to match their longest winning streak since late in the 2002-03 season. Devon Pearson had 10 points and seven rebounds while Jon Killen led the team with seven assists. The Panthers (1-7) trailed 32-25 at the break. But the Mustangs hit almost 64 percent of their second-half shots compared to the Panthers' 32 percent. The Mustangs finished plus-30 on the boards with a 45-15 margin. Brian Epps contributed a career-high seven boards in the effort. Ivory McGilvery led Prairie View with 23 points, including five 3-pointers. Andy Genao came off the bench to add 15 points, including four 3-pointers. SMU now goes on the road for three straight beginning at Centenary on Saturday. The Mustangs then visit TCU on Dec. 21 and Oklahoma on Dec. 28 before returning home to host North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30.
LAST MEETING WITH CENTENARY: DALLAS (AP) Nov. 22, 2005 - Devon Pearson scored 26 points and had 11 rebounds to lead SMU to an 85-67 victory over Centenary Tuesday night. Pearson also had three assists, two blocked shots and four steals for the Mustangs (1-1). Derrick Roberts added 14 points for SMU. Brian Morris scored 12 points, Dez Willingham 11 and Ike Ofoegbu 10 for the Mustangs. SMU led throughout the game. Jason Underwood came off the bench to score 14 points to lead Centenary (1-1). Clarke Jackson added 12 points and Alexander Starr and Bryan Baumann each scored 10 points. SMU led 52-28 at the half. The Mustangs shot 52 percent from the field to 40 percent for Centenary.
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 24 SMU CUSA 5-1 89 1-1 1-0 1-0 2-0 5-1 25 106 5-1 2-1 10 Florida State ACC 8-2 L, 59-52 on 11/14/06 43 Dayton A-10 8-1 W, 53-48 on 11/18/06 52 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 Ike Ofoegbu 14 pts, 10 rebs Prairie View A&M 12/10 2nd 2nd
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 12/13 10-19 2-4 Prairie View A&M Yes W, 68-51 Season 120-178 73-107 YES Yes 6-0 / 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)
SMU RECORD UPDATES: Additions or changes to the SMU record book during the 2006-07 season. SMU Single-Game - Team 3FGM T-5th - 12 vs. McNeese State 11/13 T-5th - 12 La-Monroe 11/22 SMU Single-Game - Individual FTA T-7th - 17 by Ike Ofoegbu vs. Illinois State 11/12 MILESTONES: - SMU had its first 2-0 start against Division I opponents since a 4-0 start to the 2000-01 season. The 2-0 starts in 2004-05 and 2001-02 included non-Division I victories. (Savannah State in 2001-02 and UT-Tyler in 2004-05) - The Mustangs won a school-record five games in November, finishing the month 5-1. The Mustangs had previously gone 4-0 in November to start the 1997-98 and 2000-01 seasons.
LONG TIME, NO SEE: SMU has had a few numbers in the boxscore that have not seen in a while - SMU scored 99 points against La.-Monroe 11/22 - last time was 101 at Puerto Rico - Mayaguez 12/20/2000 (W 101-72) - Jon Killen had 10 assists against La-Monroe 11/22 - last time was Bryan Hopkins with 10 against TCU on 11/24/2002 (W ot, 87-84)
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: Devon Pearson became the 29th player at SMU with 500 career rebounds when he passed the mar against Louisiana-Monroe 11/22.. REBOUNDING (CAREER) 1. 1169 - Jon Koncak - 1981-85 2. 1077 - Ira Terrell - 1972-76 3. 976 - Jeryl Sasser - 1997-01 4. 889 - Larry Davis - 1981-85 5. 840 - Jim Krebs - 1954-57 6. 790 - Willie Davis - 1997-01 7. 785 - Jeff Swanson - 1974-78 8. 759 - Patrick Simpson - 2001-05 9. 745 - Joel Krog - 1953-56 10. 690 - Tim Mason - 1989-93 11. 687 - Carroll Hooser - 1963-66 12. 669 - Lynn Phillips - 1966-69 13. 650 - Quinton Ross - 1999-03 14. 634 - Eric Castro - 2001-05 15. 621 - Terry Williams - 1983-87 16. 619 - Steve Strange - 1958-61 17. 615 - Jan Loudermilk - 1959-62 18. 609 - Greg Kinzer - 1989-93 19. 580 - Bill Voight - 1966-69 20. 574 - John Colborne - 1985-90 21. 562 - Mike Wilson - 1990-93 22. 554 - Gene Phillips - 1968-71 23. 550 - Wilbur Marsh - 1957-60 24. 539 - Bob Begert - 1964-67 25. 535 - Joe Swedlund - 1974-78 26. 530 - Jay Poerner - 1994-98 27. 525 - Devon Pearson - 2003-06
BLOCK PARTY: Bamba Fall's 3.25 blocks per game are secondConference USA and rank 9th in the Dec. 10 NCAA statistics. In 2005-06, Bamba Fall set the SMU freshman record with 53 blocks last season in just 18 games. (Passed the previous record of 43 by Ira Terrell in 1972-73). He also led C-USA with 3.36 per league contest.
Fall - Blocks GP 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 2005-06 Fr. 18 15 10 8 3 1 2006-07 So. 8 7 5 3 2 1 Total 26 22 15 11 5 2 BLOCKED SHOTS (CAREER) 1. 278 - Jon Koncak - 1981-85 2. 169 - Ira Terrell - 1972-76 3. 151 - Patrick Simpson - 2001-05 4. 129 - Reggie Franklin - 1977-79 5. 88 - James Gatewood - 1990-94 6. 81 - Quinton Ross - 1999-03 7. 79 - Bamba Fall - 2005-07 8. 78 - Brad Branson - 1978-80 9. 69 - Bobby Dimson - 1994-98 10. 67 - Thines Robinson II - 1974-78 67 - Jeryl Sasser - 1997-01 12. 65 - Glenn Puddy - 1984-86,87-89 13. 58 - Willie Davis - 1997-01 58 - Larry Davis - 1981-85 58 - Nigel Smith - 1998-99,00-03 16. 55 - Donatas Rackauskas - 2002-07
W MINUS 3 TO 100: Head coach Matt Doherty has 97 career wins.
I LIKE IKE: Ike Ofoegbu has become a force for the Mustangs this season. In just six games, he has almost matched his totals from last season in scoring, free throws, and field goals while drastically increasing his averages Points Avg. Rebs Avg. FG 3FG FT 2005-06 102 3.8 82 3.0 35-62 0-1 32-50 2006-07 123 15.4 62 7.8 39-62 7-16 38-54
JON "SHOOTER" KILLEN: Coach Matt Doherty called Jon Killen "shooter" during the summer to help him think moe aggressively on offense. The mindset is showing. 2004-05 Fr. 46 points in 28 games (1.6 avg) 2005-06 So. 57 points in 29 games (2.0 avg) 2006-07 Jr. 53 points in 8 games (6.6 avg)
COACHING EXPERIENCE: Head Coach Matt Doherty has assembled a coaching staff of Associate Head Coach Mike Garland, Assistant Coach Lance Irvin, Assistant Coach Steve Lutz, and Director of Operations Malcolm Farmer. The coaching staff entered the season with totals of 49 years of collegiate coaching with 16 conference crowns and 12 conference tournament championships. They have earned 26 postseason appearances, including 18 bids to the NCAA Tournament with 14 trips to the Sweet 16, nine Elite Eights, six Final Fours and two National Championships. The coaching staff has also guided 32 players to the NBA.
BUZZER BEATER: Devon Pearson gave the Mustangs an opening-night victory against Illinois State as he tipped in a miss from Derrick Roberts as time expired for the 57-55 triumph. Pearson tipped it in from the right side of the basket after Roberts' 12-foot jumper from the left baseline skipped across the rim.
SMU RECORD FOR NATIONAL TV EXPOSURE: The SMU Men's Basketball team has a school record five nationally televised games during the 2006-07 regular season. The Mustangs play four games on CSTV and one game, at Memphis, on ESPN. The Mustangs' games on CSTV include TCU, both match-ups with Houston and the home game against Memphis. The Mustangs play the first three televised games on the road before playing the final two at home in Moody Coliseum. Thursday, Dec. 21, at TCU - 7 p.m. (CSTV) Saturday, Jan. 13, at Houston - 5 p.m. (CSTV) Saturday, Feb. 3, at Memphis - 11 a.m. (ESPN) Wednesday, Feb. 7, vs. Houston - 7 p.m. (CSTV) Saturday, March 3, vs. Memphis - 8:30 p.m. (CSTV)
R-T-C: Head Coach Matt Doherty uses the initials RTC to represent his vision for the Mustangs. They are Respect, Trust and Commitment. The red wristbands the players wear have RTC as well as several signs around the Mustangs' locker room and offices.
MUSTANG HOOPS BLOG: SMU Mustangs' head coach Matt Doherty has his own blog at www.MustangHoopsBlog.com.
QUOTABLE: Quotes by and about SMU from the 2006-07 season.
Dec. 13 Postgame - Prairie View A&M (W, 68-51) Donatas Rackauskas (on his feeling about the team's 7-1 start) "We're all happy being 7-1. But we all see how much more we need to improve to take it to the level Coach Doherty wants us to play."
Dec. 11 - On Jon Killen's Expanding Role As Team Leader Matt Doherty (on what he likes most about Jon Killen) "You don't want him going to a competitor. You want him on your team. He's a winner.
Jon Killen (on his role as point guard/floor manager) "You can learn a lot about how to direct things and how to allocate resources and how to keep people happy," Killen said. "You always have to think of yourself as a manager. I can really focus and understand what I'm doing and how to get better."
Jon Killen (on if the four-game winning streak shows the team's improvement) "Since I've been here, we haven't been on a four-game winning streak. Some people say the competition is not that great, but it doesn't matter. We have to work on us getting better. I think overall, we have."
Dec. 8 - On the Mustangs Reaching No. 7 in the RPI Matt Doherty (on the RPI rating) "We are excited to see SMU in the top 25 of the RPI as it is a key component for being selected for the NCAA Tournament. With that said, we have a lot of work to do as we prepare for our upcoming games and the tough C-USA schedule."
