DALLAS (SMU) – Toyelle Wilson tried her best to speak a good weekend into existence.
When asked about the upcoming competition during Monday's coaches show, the SMU women's basketball coach quickly offered praise and support for her counterpart, Rob Lanier, and the men's basketball team. On Sunday, the men's team will battle Memphis at 3 p.m. in a crucial American Athletic Conference showdown. A few hours later, Wilson and her Mustangs will take the floor to host Charlotte in a contest that will help shape conference tournament seeding.
Wilson believes Lanier and the men will set the tone for a special Sunday at Moody Coliseum.
"That's going to be a great day for SMU Basketball, SMU Athletics, SMU sports. That's going to be fun," Wilson said. "Our men are playing unbelievable. Coach Lanier is doing an amazing job… you know they're really tough at home and I love what they're doing."
To get there, both SMU basketball programs must navigate similar paths as each team travels to New Orleans during the middle of the week to face Tulane. The SMU women will battle the Green Wave at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, while the SMU men will square off with Tulane at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
The parallel scheduling is unintentional, but something both teams are excited to be a part of.
For the SMU women, the week offers an opportunity to get back on track after a disappointing showing during only one outing last week. The Mustangs had a mid-week bye, followed by a trip up the road to Denton, where North Texas came away with a 78-65 win.
Wednesday's game with Tulane is important as the regular season winds down. SMU (11-12 overall, 5-7 AAC) is jockeying for position in the AAC standings, trying to stay out of playing in the conference tournament's opening round. Tulane (10-13, 3-9) currently sits just behind the Mustangs, so a win in their only meeting is crucial.
For the men's team, Thursday's visit to New Orleans is a chance to keep building momentum. The Mustangs (17-7, 8-3) have won four straight games to sit fourth in the AAC standings. A win over Tulane (10-13, 3-9) would result in the longest win streak for Lanier since taking over in Dallas.
All of that sets the stage for Sunday's doubleheader at Moody Coliseum.
The SMU men will be looking to avenge their toughest loss of the season as Memphis (18-6, 7-4) rallied from a double-digit deficit to hand the Mustangs a 62-59 heartbreaker back on January 7.
With a 12-2 record at home this year, Lanier is looking forward to seeing his players surrounded by a raucous crowd for one of the biggest games of the regular season.
"I think these guys deserve that. It's a great group of young people. We obviously have got a great, loyal fan base," Lanier said. "The environment was tremendous in Moody (against North Texas last Sunday) and I do think that support is kind of something that you earn. There are places that have it no matter what's going on, but there are places that you need to earn it. And I think these guys have earned it. Regardless of what happens going forward, I think this is a group that people can get behind and I'd love for us to continue to have that sort of environment."
While Wilson believes in a positive outcome for that game, she hopes that no matter what happens fans will stick around to give the SMU women a similar homecourt advantage during their lone meeting of the year with Charlotte (13-11, 6-6). A win in that contest would go a long way to determining seeding in the AAC Tournament later this year.
With an opportunity to earn a 10th home win of the season, Wilson is optimistic that a big Sunday is coming to Moody Coliseum.
"That's what I'm really excited about – the crowd we're going to get for that game to play a really good opponent," Wilson said. "We want to protect home court. We want to play well in front of our fans, our SMU fans."
