UNIVERSITY PARK — Circled on the calendar as a pivotal game in their NCAA tournament pursuit for months, SMU’s home matchup with No. 21 Louisville certainly lived up to the expectations.
The top two scoring offenses in the conference put on a show at Moody Coliseum Tuesday night, as the Mustangs (18-8, 7-6) upset the Cardinals (19-7, 8-5) 95-85.
The two teams fought in a back-and-forth battle with 33 ties and lead changes until SMU pulled away in the game’s final six minutes with a 19-9 run.
“I felt like we were a second-half team tonight,” SMU point guard Boopie Miller said. “I feel like we showed we could beat and compete with any team in the league.”
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The win is SMU’s second against a ranked team and fourth against a Quad 1 opponent this season. It’s the first time SMU has beaten two ranked teams in a season since 2019-20 and will serve as a significant résumé booster as the Mustangs sit on the bubble of making their first NCAA tournament in nine years.
In ESPN’s latest bracketology released Tuesday, the Mustangs were predicted as a 10-seed but have been trending in the wrong direction from as high as a seven-seed, especially after a 79-78 road loss to Syracuse Saturday.
But the Mustangs not only secured a win that looked good on paper against Louisville Tuesday. They looked like a team fit for a tournament run.
SMU shot an impressive 58% from the field and 47% from 3-point range, as Jaron Pierre Jr., Miller and Corey Washington led the Mustangs with 25, 23 and 18 points, respectively. Pierre surpassed 20 points for the fifth time in his last seven games. Miller added nine assists, just one shy of the double-double.
“That’s a really, really good offensive team,” Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said. “Everyone in the league knows how good they are. Everyone in the country knows how good they are.”
‘Stangs are soaring: See photos from SMU’s victory over No. 21 Louisville at Moody Coliseum
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The two teams, which each average over 86 points per game this season, combined for 101 points in the first half alone.
“I’ve never seen a half like that in college basketball,” Enfield said. “The fans got a treat.”
The first half saw 22 lead changes and ties, but SMU built a lead as large as eight points. The Cardinals closed the gap to 52-49 by halftime.
But SMU also held a three-point halftime lead in the teams’ first meeting this season on Jan. 31 at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville came back to win that game 88-74.
In the rematch, SMU hung strong for the first 10 minutes of the half before a 6-0 run by Louisville gave the Cardinals a 72-69 lead.
Then, Corey Washington came alive with two big 3s late in the second half to put SMU up 81-76 with 5:42 to play. The Mustangs’ lead grew to eight points with just over three minutes to play, and Louisville was never able to recover.
“His two 3s in a row were probably the key to the game,” Enfield said. “He was terrific. Every time he shoots it, we think it’s going in.”
Louisville freshman Mikel Brown Jr. finished with a game-high 29 points, but Enfield was OK with that.
“We said anything under 30, we’re good,” he said.
Guards J’Vonne Hadley and Ryan Conwell added 14 and 12 points.
SMU’s defense improved in the second half where they held SMU to 36% shooting. After Louisville made nine 3-pointers in the first half, it made just four in the second half. They also forced 17 Louisville turnovers.
SMU was out-rebounded 38-30, including 14-5 on the offensive glass.
Just five games remain on SMU’s regular-season schedule, and the March 4 matchup against Miami is its only against a team ranked higher in the standings. Road games at California and Stanford, however, are currently Quad 1 games.
The Mustangs’ path to the NCAA tournament is in their own control. As long as they can win the games they’re expected to, a long-awaited return to March Madness should be just weeks away.
“You have to beat teams like this,” Enfield said. “You have to beat teams like this to go the NCAA tournament, to get a decent seed.
“We can’t take this anything for granted. We can beat any team in this league, and we can also lose any team.”
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