The 2-1-4: SMU Basketball struggles start to finish vs. New Mexico

SMU Basketball didn’t get anything going offensively and couldn’t get many stops, falling to New Mexico 84-63 in Moody Coliseum on Tuesday. The Mustangs fell to 1-2 on the season and need to bounce back from a lackluster showing.

Up next for the Mustangs is Saturday’s 2 p.m. CT matchup against Evansville in Dallas. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The 2-1-4 shares two postgame quotes, names a player of the game and breaks down four takeaways from the SMU-New Mexico game.

Two notable quotes after the game

“The difference from being in Dayton a couple nights ago to being at home tonight was we didn’t get lost in the game. Dayton, we fought through adversity. We fought through being down 10 at half, fought through being down 10 in the 2nd half. We had a different energy level that we sustained for at least 35, 26-minutes.” -G Zach Nutall

“The numbers and the stats aren’t as relevant as the competitive spirit or the lack thereof that happened in the game. I’m disappointed in our effort. I know we got a group that’s capable of bringing much, much more to the table. Tonight is adversity. The Dayton game was a loss. Tonight presented some adversity. Now we got something we’ve got to respond to and some serious soul searching. What we showed on the road at Dayton was some fight. What we showed tonight was some quit. We do got some soul searching and self-exploration as a team.” –SMU coach Rob Lanier

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One SMU player of the game

F Stefan Todorovic: It wasn’t perfect for him, but he was active and was the team’s third leading scorer with nine points. He went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and didn’t commit any turnovers, either. A bigger role might help him add a bit more of a scoring punch. Todorovic has some work to do matching up defensively, but his offensive punch on a night when SMU didn’t have much was a glimmer of a bright spot.

Four takeaways from New Mexico game

Frontcourt struggles continue: Efe Odigie’s night was really encapsulated when he tipped a rebound into the SMU goal in the 1st half. He finished 3-of-7 on the night and although he grabbed nine rebounds, not one was on the offensive glass. Mo Njie went 1-for-5 from the field and Xavier Foster played just three minutes. With how poor the production was in the front court, it’s worth considering throwing Foster out there more and just letting him get his opportunities. Rob Lanier commented after the game that Foster is growing and developing, but after a long time away from the court, they’re bringing him along slowly. Getting someone to step up out of the bigs would be a big help to the guards that are having to carry things offensively.

SMU offense shows zero flow: Zhuric Phelps and Zach Nutall both had rough nights shooting the ball, but Sam Williamson’s struggles are even more concerning right now. Phelps and Nutall finished in double-digits, but Williamson was 2-of-7 for just four points. He missed a wide open 3-pointer, his lone attempt from beyond the arc. Back to the offense though, the shot selection from the Mustangs was the biggest issue we saw from the game. There’s little flow and when they do get looks, they’re taking contested shots for the most part. Getting the ball inside, even with the front court struggles, would go a long way to opening up good looks.

Defense slightly improves in 2nd half: UNM started to get hot in the 2nd half from beyond the arc, shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. Still, the 2nd half was a slight improvement. SMU was able to find a little bit more success limiting fast-break points, points off turnovers and 2nd chance points. Now, giving up more 3-point baskets is concerning, which resulted in UNM’s points per possession ticking up ever so slightly. It’s lipstick on a pig, at this point, but SMU’s effort defensively to play more within the structure showed up.

Free throws: To cap it all off, SMU was 11-of-19 from the free throw line. The bigs combined for 1-of-5 from the line, which shows a bit how little contact they tried to draw. Getting to the line should be a key part of the game plan and instead, UNM shot 25 free throws. UNM was in the bonus for a good portion of the 1st half. The final score could’ve been a lot worse if the Lobos didn’t go 17-of-25 from the line.