SMU Men's Basketball opens vs. SAGU

SMU (0-0) vs SAGU (1-0)
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
Monday, November 6, 2023 – 7:30 p.m. CT
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Phelps Named Preseason All-AAC Second Team
Mustangs Go 3-0 In Spain

The Mustangs open their second season under Head Coach Rob Lanier by hosting Southwestern Assemblies of God on Monday. This starts a four-game home stand to open the season, which includes a game on Wednesday against Western Illinois and Thursday against Lamar. The homestand concludes with [15/19] Texas A&M on Nov. 14.

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).

SMU IN OPENERS (67-40 *): Last season, def. A&M-Commerce 77-60 in Moody Coliseum. SMU has won 11 * straight season-openers. (* win to open 2013-14 was later vacated, officially 66-40)

SMU IN HOME OPENERS (72-35 *): SMU is 72-35 in home openers with a 50-16 record in home openers at Moody Coliseum and a 22-19 mark outside of Moody Coliseum. SMU has won 24 of the last 27 home openers, including 12 straight. Last season, SMU defeated A&M-Commerce 77-60. (* win to open 2013-14 was later vacated, officially 69-35)

SMU WHEN OPENING AT HOME (49-16): SMU is 49-16 when opening the season at home (2022-23, SMU defeated A&M-Commerce 77-60).

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.

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.

UP NEXT: The Mustangs continue a four-game homestand on Wednesday against Western Illinois at 6 p.m.

THE SERIES VS SAGU (0-0): First Meeting

Editor’s Note: SMU press release.