American Athletic Conference Championship – First Round
No. 10 SMU (10-21, 5-13 AAC) vs. No. 7 UCF (17-13, 8-10 AAC)
Dickies Arena – Fort Worth, Texas | Thursday, March 9, 2023 – 1:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPNU | Radio: KAAM 770 AM | Audio Streaming: SMU App (Google Play | Apple App Store)
Gameday Central | March 6 SMU Basketball Coaches Show
DALLAS – Zach Nutall meandered through the Cincinnati airport, stopping to check out what was for sale at various shops.
The regular season for SMU men's basketball had come to a close just a few hours earlier with a loss at Cincinnati. The Mustang senior was killing time before a flight back to Dallas as his thoughts drifted. Three days prior, he had stood on the floor with his fellow soon-to-be graduates and received a commemorative jersey as part of the Senior Day festivities. Now the regular season was finished, another marker signifying the pending conclusion of his college career.
At 10-21 overall, the Mustangs could do nothing more to improve their 2022-23 campaign. But one thing was certain – the year was not over.
"We're playing Thursday against UCF (in the AAC Tournament). That's all I'm looking forward to, so no sentimental thoughts or actions yet," Nutall said.
While the season didn't go as the Mustangs had hoped, the chance to find some positivity remains as tenth-seeded SMU faces the No. 7 Knights at 1:30 p.m. in the first round of the AAC Tournament at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
SMU's schedule was a showcase in close but not close enough. Of the 21 losses the team suffered this winter, 11 were by single-digits, with five coming by one possession. The team also has four wins by three points or less.
While the lone meeting with UCF was not decided by a narrow margin (85-53 back on January 8), the second meeting between the two schools should be under vastly different circumstances. For starters, SMU will be playing just down the road from its campus after making the trip to Orlando earlier in the year. Additionally, the first meeting with the Golden Knights occurred just three days after the Mustangs took a hard loss at Houston, the AAC regular season champion and current No. 1 in all major national polls. Also, during the first game SMU was without the services of key ball handler Zhuric Phelps. He is healthy and ready for Thursday's rematch.
"It's a great opportunity for us in two ways – number one, we get to play a team that beat us handily the first time and that wasn't the best version of us, and they're very similar to the team we just played," SMU coach Rob Lanier said. "So from a preparation standpoint, there's a lot of similarities as it relates to our principles and how they apply to games."
SMU isn't going into the tournament looking to play spoiler or shock the world. They're taking a more practical approach, focusing on doing the little things right and putting together a complete performance.
They've been in close games, so a tight contest shouldn't be anything new. It's simply a matter of putting everything they've practiced together for one 40-minute effort.
"We're not looking for miracles. We're not looking for a rise to the occasion without work," Nutall said. "When we get there on Wednesday, we're going to prepare for Thursday and let the ball roll."
