SMU goes into 2nd ACC season, and 2nd with coach Andy Enfield, looking to end NCAA tourney drought
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SMU (24-11, 13-7 ACC)
Andy Enfield goes into his second season with SMU, which goes into its second ACC season. In their debuts with a new coach and in a new league, the Mustangs matched their most wins since the school-record 30 when making their last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. They did get into the NIT last season. They return starters guards Boopie Miller and B.J. Edwards, and 7-foot-2 center Samet Yigitoglu from Turkey. SMU also brought in Conference USA player of the year Jaron Pierre Jr., a 6-5 guard from Jacksonville State.
Players to watch
Miller is going into his third ACC season, having transferred to SMU from Wake Forest. He averaged 13.2 points and 5.5 assists last season while starting all 28 of his games for the Mustangs, after 15.6 points and 3.5 assists in 35 games for the Demon Deacons.
Pierre, now with his fourth school in a five-season span, led C-USA with 21.6 points a game in his only season with Jacksonville State. He also had 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game.
Departures and arrivals
Pierre, 6-6 senior forward Corey Washington (Wichita State) and 6.9 forward Sam Walters (Michigan) all got to SMU in the transfer portal. Washington averaged 13.7 points and 7.5 rebounds last season for the Shockers. Before one season at Michigan, Walters played in all 37 games as a freshman for NCAA Final Four team Alabama. The five true freshmen include 6-5 forward Jermaine O’Neal Jr. and 6-10 center Jaden Toombs. SMU’s two lost starters were double-figure scorers Chuck Harris and Matt Cross.
Top games
SMU plays its first seven games at home before four consecutive SEC opponents. The Mustangs go to Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, then play Texas A&M on the Texas-Arlington campus Dec. 7, and LSU at the home of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans on Dec. 13. Their ACC opener is at home against No. 25 North Carolina, a week before going to sixth-ranked Duke.
Facts and figures
SMU has what is considered the best recruiting class in program history. Enfield said there was a strategic decision to recruit freshmen, and he said they have to be ready to play since the bench will be mostly freshmen. … O’Neal and Toombs were teammates in the Dynamic Prep program, not far from the SMU campus and where they were coached by O’Neal’s father, six-time NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal. … The Mustangs won 86-71 in an exhibition game against Oklahoma State, the team they lost to in a second-round NIT game at home last March.
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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball