By Andy Lohman

SMU (14-16, 6-12 American) vs. Tulsa (18-13, 8-10 American)
Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship – First Round
FedExForum – Memphis, Tennessee
March 14, 2019 – 7 pm CT
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Heading into the 2019 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship this weekend, SMU has reason to be optimistic.

After a short turnaround and a long travel day following the game at No. 12 Houston, SMU won its final regular-season game of the year at USF, 77-71. More than the win itself, which avenged a last-minute loss to the Bulls at Moody Coliseum on Feb. 7, was the way the Mustangs secured victory.

For the first time since Jan. 16, both junior point guard Jimmy Whitt Jr. and senior guard Jarrey Foster were in the starting lineup together. SMU is 9-3 this season and 22-9 all-time when the duo plays together (including the loss to Houston where Foster exited due to injury after four minutes). The length and athleticism of each provide flow for the offense, while their veteran presence stabilizes the defense.

Foster returned to the lineup for Senior Day against Wichita State on March 3, right as Whitt left with a shoulder injury. While SMU struggled without a full-strength line-up, the Mustangs stayed competitive against quality teams.

"Without so many people, without Jarrey, we've played so many people to the wire," head coach Tim Jankovich said. "So there is reason for optimism. Not to be overly optimistic, but our guys believe if everybody feels good enough to play, we could really make a run and I'm going to choose to believe that as well."

At Monday night's Fast Track at Ozona Grill and Bar, Jankovich shared that a friend who works covering college basketball texted him saying SMU was the most resilient team he's seen in his years covering the game.

"That meant a lot to me," Jankovich said. "It's not like we're playing to get the Resilient Ribbon or the moral victories but given the circumstance, our guys keep on fighting…A lot of guys would throw in the towel."

With veterans coming back into the fold of a resilient team, the younger players are peaking at the exact right time. Freshman Feron Hunt exploded for 17 points and 14 rebounds, both career highs, in the win against USF, throwing down dunks all game.

"You have double-figure rebounds at halftime, you're doing some serious work," Jankovich said of Hunt's performance. "You can kind of see lately he's playing with more confidence."

Sophomore Ethan Chargois poured in a game-high 19 points while adding five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

"Very pleased with what a great week he's had," Jankovich said. "I think it's a preview of what he can become. He's made big strides from last year, I think there's big progress going to be made."

The No. 10 seed Mustangs will play the No. 7 seed Tulsa Golden Hurricane, who a full-strength SMU beat 77-57 on Jan. 12 in their lone meeting this season, in the AAC First Round on Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. CT.

Senior guard Jahmal McMurray, a Second Team All-AAC selection, led all scorers with 22 points in the January win, including a 6-for-11 night from three-point range. Playing against Tulsa's 3-2 matchup zone, SMU made 13 threes as a team.

"We really had great offensive flow, we shared the ball, we got great shots," Jankovich said of the offensive success against the Golden Hurricane in January. "Not always does that happen when you play them, so we'll need that again."

If the Mustangs advance to the quarterfinals, they'll face No. 2 seed Cincinnati on Friday, March 15 at 6 p.m. SMU twice played the Bearcats, who spent the end of the season in the top 25, to single-digit games. The semifinals will be Saturday at 4 p.m., and the final is set for Sunday at 2:15 p.m.

For now, though, the focus is on Tulsa on Thursday evening.

"We're going to have to go rebound our tails off," Jankovich said. "The second thing is to play confident and relaxed. I think it's so important to go there with an everything to gain, nothing to lose mentality."