SMU Basketball ready for back-to-back matchups vs. Western Illinois, Lamar

SMU (1-0) vs Western Illinois (0-1)
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
Wednesday, November 8, 2023 –  6:00 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Radio: KAAM 770 AM | Audio Streaming: SMU App (Google Play | Apple App Store)
Gameday Central | Live Stats | Ticket Info | Directions | Parking
SMU Notes | WIU | American
SMU Basketball Yearbook | SMU Digital Game Program
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SMU vs Lamar (1-0)
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
Thursday, November 9, 2023 – 7:00 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Radio: KAAM 770 AM | Audio Streaming: SMU App (Google Play | Apple App Store)
Gameday Central | Live Stats | Ticket Info | Directions | Parking
SMU Notes | Lamar | American
SMU Basketball Yearbook | SMU Digital Game Program
Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram

The Mustangs host Western Illinois on Wednesday in the second game of a season-opening four-game homestand. SMU also hosts Lamar on Thursday and [15/19] Texas A&M next Tuesday. 

The Mustangs opened the season with a 82-63 win over SAGU on Monday. Zhuric Phelps led SMU with 24 and five assists. Chuck Harris added 16 points and Tyreek Smith recorded a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in his SMU debut. As a team, SMU totaled 13 steals for the game and held SAGU to 29.6% shooting in the second half.

The Mustangs return three starters in Zhuric Phelps (preseason All-AAC Second Team), Samuell Williamson and Jalen Smith plus a transfer class ranked as high as No. 2 in The American. In August of 2023, the Mustangs went on a 10-day trip to Spain, going 3-0 with games in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. The team visited several historic sites including Madrid’s Mercado de San Miguel, Plaza Mayor and Royal Palace as well a tour of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid, the Port of Valencia and a tour at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

MUSTANGS GO 3-0 IN SPAIN: SMU men’s basketball finished 3-0 on its three-game exhibition tour in Spain. The Mustangs won 88-77 in Madrid, 125-66 in Valencia and 92-60 in Barcelona. For the three games, the Mustangs shot 50.2% from the field, averaged 15.7 steals and had a plus-21.7 rebound margin (55.7-34.0).

Samuell Williamson averaged 16.0 points to lead the team in scoring, while pulling down 6.3 rebounds per game and shooting 62.5% (20-32). Zhuric Phelps added 15.7 points per game while totaling seven assists and six steals in the three contests. Tennessee transfer B.J. Edwards led with 6.0 assists per game while also averaging 5.3 points and 6.0 rebounds with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.  Edwards nearly had a triple-double (10 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) in the game in Valencia. Jalen Smith averaged 8.3 points and finished with seven assists against zero turnovers while knocking down two of his five three point tries.

Georgia State transfer Ja’Heim Hudson contributed 9.3 points and 7.0 rebounds, recording his tour-best 12 boards in the final contest. Butler transfer Chuck Harris scored 11.0 per game and averaged 2.0 assists while hitting 5-of-6 on free throws. Oklahoma State transfer Tyreek Smith a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game with 6.7 points. Georgetown transfer Denver Anglin added 6.7 point and an assist per outing. Xavier Foster had a team-high four blocked shots in the three games while adding 4.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per matchup. Keon Ambrose-Hylton shot 56.3% from the field (9-16) while averaging 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds.

Ricardo Wright added 5.3 points and 1.3 assists. Mo Njie contributed 3.0 rebounds, including his tour-best seven in the win in Valencia. Emory Lanier had eight points, five assists and two steals for the trip. Jackson Young knocked down a pair of threes in Barcelona. Trey Utter scored in his first appearance in the victory in Valencia.

In the finale at Barcelona, SMU shot 46.8% and recorded 21 assists on 36 field goals en route to a 92-60 victory. Chuck Harris led with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Zhuric Phelps followed with 14 points, five assists and a pair of steals. Jalen Smith had a team-high four steals with nine points while Ja’Heim Hudson had a game-high 12 rebounds. Tyreek Smith had two of the Mustangs’ four blocked shots in the game while grabbing six boards and scoring seven points. The team recorded 15 steals with Harris, Phelps, Samuell Williamson and B.J. Edwards totaling two takeaways each.

In Valencia, the Mustangs shot 53.4%, had 82 points in the paint and a 62-33 rebound advantage in the 125-66 victory versus Crudeli Academy. The game was played at Alqueria del Basket SMU had six score in double figures as Samuell Williamson led with 26 points and Zhuric Phelps added 21 while getting 10 each from Keon Ambrose-Hylton, Ricardo Wright, Tennessee transfer B.J. Edwards and Georgetown transfer Denver Anglin. Edwards nearly recorded a triple-double as he also had team highs of 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals with just one turnover. Phelps was 9-18 shooting for his 21 points while grabbing two steals and three rebounds. Williamson scored his 26 points on 12-17 shooting, including 2-4 on threes while collecting seven boards and three steals.

In the opening game against Madrid, SMU shot 49.3% from the field, had a 47-30 rebound advantage and 13 steals. The Mustangs were up 44-34 at halftime and by as many as 22 points with under seven minutes left. Samuell Williamson led the way with 14 points and eight rebounds. Ja’Heim Hudson added 13 points and seven boards while Tyreek Smith had a team-high 12 rebounds to go with nine points. Zhuric Phelps had 12 points and a pair of steals in just 19 minutes. Hudson had three steals while Jalen Smith, Phelps and Williamson had two each. B.J. Edwards had a team-high seven assists with six rebounds in the tour-opening victory.

During the trip, the travel party visited historic sites in each city. Highlights included Madrid’s Mercado de San Miguel, Plaza Mayor and Royal Palace as well a tour of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid, the Port of Valencia and a tour at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Photos and videos from the Mustangs’ trip can be seen on Instagram (smubasketball) and Facebook (smubasketball).

2022-23 IN REVIEW: SMU finished 10-22 in the first season under Head Coach Rob Lanier, playing 14 games decided by six points or less (5-9). The Mustangs played in the championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, falling to Hawaii 58-57 on a buzzer-beater.

Zhuric Phelps earned an AAC Player of the Week honor, three AAC Weekly Honor Roll nods and a spot on the Diamond Head Classic All-Tournament Team. Samuell Williamson earned one AAC Weekly Honor Roll.

Zhuric Phelps averaged a team-best 17.5 points (6th AAC). Phelps also averaged 3.2 assists (11th AAC) and 2.3 steals (1st AAC, 16th NCAA). Zach Nutall was second for the Mustangs scoring 13.2 per game (19th AAC). He made 2.0 threes per game (13th AAC). Efe Odigie added 11.3 points, Samuell Williamson 9.3 per game. Williamson led the Mustangs at 7.3 rebounds (6th AAC) followed by Odigie at 6.9 (9th AAC). Odigie and Williamson each had six double-doubles (T-6th AAC). Williamson averaged 1.4 steals (11th AAC) and 0.8 blocks per game (14th AAC). 

THE SCHEDULE: The non-conference schedule is highlighted by home games against Dayton and 15/19] Texas A&M, road match-ups with Arizona State and Florida State plus the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off with West Virginia, [rv/rv] Wisconsin and [rv/rv] Virginia. SMU will play five AAC opponents twice: ECU, Memphis, North Texas, Tulane and UAB. The Mustangs will play home games only against Charlotte, Temple, Tulsa and UTSA, and play road games only versus Florida Atlantic, Rice, South Florida and Wichita State. The American Men’s Basketball Championship is March 13-17 (Wednesday-Sunday) at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

ZHURIC PHELPS NBA DRAFT: On April 12, Zhuric Phelps announced he would enter the NBA Draft and maintain his collegiate eligibility. On May 24, he announced he would withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to SMU for his junior season.

BALANCE: The Mustangs had at least four score in double figures 13 times last season, 12 of those since the win over Utah State on Dec. 23. Six times this season the Mustangs Had five score in double figures (vs Utah State 12/23, Tulsa 1/1, Tulane 1/11, USF 1/29, ECU 2/19, at Cincinnati 3/5). Additionally, 10 different Mustangs scored in double figures at least once.

MILESTONES: Zhuric Phelps has 97 career steals. He would be the 27th Mustang to reach 100 career steals. Chuck Harris is at 981 career points after scoring 16 in his SMU debut on Monday.

PLAYING THEM CLOSE: The Mustangs played 14 games decided by six points or fewer, going 5-9 in those games. SMU defeated Iona 85-81 on Dec. 22, Utah State 77-74 on Dec. 23, Tulsa 79-76 in overtime on Jan. 18 , USF 82-80 on Jan. 29 and Temple 72-71 on Feb. 8. The Mustangs have lost nine games decided by six points or less, including the AAC tournament opener vs UCF (76-70), AAC games at USF (71-67) on Feb. 25, at Wichita State (91-89 2OT) on Feb. 12, at ECU (77-72) on Feb. 4, against Wichita State (71-69) on Jan. 22 and versus Cincinnati (54-52) on Jan. 14. The Mustangs fell 58-57 on a buzzer-beater at Hawaii Dec. 25, 74-70 in OT to Louisiana on Nov. 22 and 69-68 to Jackson State on Dec. 3.

PORTAL POWER: 247 Sports ranked SMU as the No. 42 transfer class and the No. 2 class in the American Athletic Conference (Memphis). The transfers inculded two ranked as four-star (B.J. Edwards – Tennessee, Chuck Harris – Butler) and three as three-star (Denver Anglin – Georgetown, Ja’Heim Hudson – Georgia State, Tyreek Smith – Oklahoma State) additions.

STEALING THE SHOW: Zhuric Phelps had 68 steals in 2022-23, averaging 2.3 per game (1st AAC, 16th NCAA). That was fifth in a season at SMU. Phelps had a career-high 7 steals at Wichita State on Feb. 12, which tied for third in a game at SMU and was the most since Nic Moore had 7 vs Texas Southern 11/26/2014. Phelps also had 6 at Tulsa on Jan. 18 as well as 5 against Cincinnati on Jan. 14 and five at USF on Feb. 25.

2022-23 AAC HONORS – ZHURIC PHELPS (POTW DEC. 26, HONOR ROLL NOV 28, FEB. 13, FEB. 20): Zhuric Phelps was named to the Feb. 20 AAC Weekly Honor Roll after averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals in games against [2/2] Houston and the win over ECU. That made it back-to-back honors after being on the Feb. 13 AAC Weekly Honor Roll following 22.5 points, 5.5 steals, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds in two games. He hit the game-winning free throw in the 72-71 win against Temple. Phelps was named the AAC Player of the Week on Dec. 26 after averaging 19.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, earning all-tournament honors. His first AAC Weekly Honor Roll was Nov. 28 after averaging 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.0 blocks in two games. Phelps has four career AAC Weekly Honor. He was the conference’s Freshman of the Week on Dec. 13, 2021. SAMUELL WILLIAMSON  (HONOR ROLL JAN. 2): Samuell Williamson was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Jan. 2. He had 17 points with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocked shots and a steal in the 92-67 AAC-opening win over Tulsa on New Year’s Day.

LAST GAME (W, 82-63 vs SAGU on Nov. 6): DALLAS — Zhuric Phelps had 24 points in SMU’s 82-63 win against Southwestern Assemblies on Monday night in a season opener. Phelps also added five assists for the Mustangs. Chuck Harris scored 16 points while shooting 6 for 10, including 2 for 5 from beyond the arc, and added three steals. Tyreek Smith shot 4 of 11 from the field and 4 for 6 from the line to finish with 12 points while adding 10 rebounds. The Lions were led by Kylon Owens, who posted 16 points and nine rebounds. CJ Hall added 12 points, four assists and two blocks for Southwestern Assemblies. In addition, CJ Kelley finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

UP NEXT: The Mustangs continue a four-game homestand on Thursday against Lamar at 7 p.m.

THE SERIES VS WESTERN ILLINOIS (0-0): First Meeting

THE SERIES VS LAMAR (6-0): The Mustangs are 6-0 versus Lamar with five of thos matchups at Moody Coliseum.

LAST SEASON VS LAMAR (W, 75-50 on Nov. 27, 2023): DALLAS — Zhruic Phelps had 19 points and SMU rolled to a 75-50 victory over Lamar on Sunday. Phelps also had four steals for the Mustangs (3-3). Stefan Todorovic hit three 3-pointer sand scored 14 with seven rebounds. Samuell Williamson shot 5 of 7 from the field to score 10. The Cardinals (3-4) were led by Valentin Catt with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Nate Calmese added 11 points. Chris Pryor had eight points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Editor’s Note: SMU press release.