Workouts, garage cleaning and plenty of prayers kept the Mustangs busy in the days between SMU's final ACC tournament game and Sunday's NCAA Tournament selection show.

Those prayers were answered when the Mustangs were announced as a No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region, setting up a First Four matchup with Miami (OH). When SMU takes the court in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday night, it will mark the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.

"We practiced a lot. We shot, ran just to stay in shape," SMU senior guard Jaron Pierre Jr. said. "But we were just waiting for that day to come. When it came and we got our name called, it was nothing but excitement."

Players tried to stay busy during the wait.

"It was amazing," SMU senior guard Boopie Miller said. "I said a lot of prayers. We also got in the gym, got up shots, did a lot of running. That was good for us. We're just ready for this game coming up."

Second-year SMU head coach Andy Enfield spent a little time paying attention to other games, noting he felt better after VCU won the Atlantic 10 title and Utah State won the Mountain West.

Still, he worked to keep his mind off basketball while waiting for the bracket to be released.

"I tried to keep busy," Enfield said. "I walked on the Katy Trail. I went to Home Depot and bought a push broom. I actually broomed my whole garage, cleaned it out. I was trying to think of things to do to keep busy, not worry about basketball. But we watched some basketball games the last couple days, some really exciting games that happened to go our way."

It wasn't just a waiting game over the last few days. It's been a long time coming for several of the Mustangs. Miller, Pierre and B.J. Edwards have waited their entire careers to reach the NCAA Tournament.

"It took us five years. It took you six," Miller said to Pierre. "It took me five. So I'm just trying to be excited about it. I'm just excited about playing. That happiness, it has to go away now. Now we've got to get ready for the game plan and try to win the game."

While much of the roster will be experiencing the tournament for the first time, the coaching staff brings plenty of March experience. Enfield is making his seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach.

Only Corey Washington and Sam Walters have been in the tournament, with Walters reaching the Final Four with Alabama in 2024. 

"We've been in many NCAA Tournaments as a coaching staff. There's nothing better," Enfield said. "There's only a few guys on our team, Corey and Sam Walters, that have been in. Boopie has never been there. Jaron's never been there. So is this going to be a first for everybody except two of our players … so it's going to be exciting for all these guys."

An NCAA Tournament appearance seemed nearly certain after the Mustangs beat Louisville by 10 at home and followed with a 24-point win at Boston College. 

But Edwards went down with an injury late in the first half at California, and the Mustangs dropped their final four regular-season games. They rebounded with a win to open the ACC Tournament before falling to Louisville by four in the next round. 

With Edwards expected back for the NCAA Tournament, combined with SMU's earlier resume, it was enough to get into the dance.

"We had great wins," Enfield said. "Obviously we had a significant injury, (and) we probably don't lose all those games at the end of the season with a full-strength roster. But I think if you look at our full body of work, we certainly deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament, and we're just happy to be there. It didn't matter who we played, what region, or what part of the bracket. We're just happy to be there to go compete for a national championship."

Even through the late-season struggles, the Mustangs felt they had a team deserving of a higher seed. 

"Happy to have him back," Pierre said. "It feels good to have him back. He's looking good. … We have a really good team, and we showed that this year, and that gave us a chance, but we're going to show that we're more than that." 

It took two seasons for Enfield to build the Mustangs into a competitive team within a power conference and earn an NCAA Tournament appearance. 

When he arrived at SMU two years ago, Edwards was one of only two players remaining on the roster. Miller and Samet Yiğitoğlu joined last year's team, and this season the Mustangs added the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history along with transfers like Pierre and Washington.

"It's a credit to our players. They took a chance on SMU coming into the ACC," Enfield said. "What they've accomplished the last two years, especially this season, guys like Boopie Miller and B.J. Edwards, Samet, the returnees, it means a lot."

Now SMU will try to accomplish something the program hasn't done in even longer than making the tournament. The Mustangs haven't won a tournament game since 1988.

That journey began in the Miller Champions Club inside Moody Coliseum, where the team gathered to watch the selection show. It continues in Dayton.

"It was very exciting for our players, our coaching staff, families," Enfield said. "We were all together here in the arena, and it was a very joyous time to be a Mustang. It's been a while since SMU has been in the NCAA Tournament — certainly been even longer since they won a basketball game in the tournament. So we're looking forward to representing our school and the ACC in Dayton on Wednesday night."