It doesn't look like anybody can stop SMU in the second half of the season, meaning that Tulsa has a tall task ahead of them when they travel to Dallas on Thursday night. The Golden Hurricane are very mediocre this season with .500 records in conference and overall play, but they've won their last two games. The Mustangs have won 11 straight including recent big wins over Houston and UConn on the road. Tipoff is set for 8:00 PM Eastern time and it can be seen on CBS Sports Network and online on CBSSports.com (subscription required).
Tulsa (14-14, 8-8 AAC)
The Golden Hurricane didn't do so well in the gauntlet of the AAC's best teams. They've at least been able to gain some momentum by taking down the lesser opponents, including a recent 74-66 win over East Carolina. Tulsa and Smu met nearly a month ago already this season, and despite the Hurricane being at home, still lost in convincing fashion by 23 points.
Leading scorer Junior Etou (12.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg) had 23 points in the win over ECU, bolstered by hitting 4-of-5 3-point attempts. He'll look to have a similar showing against Cincy, where he had 10 points last time against them.
No. 14 SMU (25-4, 15-1 AAC)
One of the reasons the Mustangs have been so successful this season is their ability to match up with the other tough defenses In the conference.
They hold opponents to just 59 points per game on the season (3rd nationally). That number has slightly ballooned up recently, but they haven't lost their edge. Once not a thought for postseason play in a weak conference, SMU now stands as a five seed in the South on recent ESPN projections thanks to winning 21 of their last 22 games.
Sophomore guard Shake Milton (13.4 ppg, 4.3 apg) led the way in SMU's recent win over UConn with 20 points. Most of that was made from downtown by hitting 6-of-11 3-point attempts. Junior forward Semi Ojeleye (18.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg) had 16 points with much of that from making 7-of-9 free throws.
SMU has won five of the last six meetings against Tulsa. They're a massive 17.5-point favorite, and the O/U is set at 133.5 points. The Mustangs are a solid 18-5-1 against the spread this season and 9-2 at home.
