March 2, 2010

SMU Mustangs (14-14, 7-7 C-USA)
at
TULSA Golden Hurricane (20-9, 9-5 C-USA)
Wed. March 3 - 7 p.m.
Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,355)
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Radio: KAAM 770 AM (Rich Phillips, Herman Hudson)
Internet: SMUMustangs.com

Complete Game Notes

The SMU Mustangs play at Tulsa on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the final road game of the regular season. The Mustangs are sixth in C-USA at 7-7 and chasing TU, which is fifth at 9-5. The Mustangs can get to finish fifth in C-USA by winning its final two games and having Tulsa lose its final two contests. SMU is 7-4 in C-USA games since an 0-3 start that included a 63-56 loss to Tulsa in Dallas on Jan. 13. SMU is 3-4 on the road in C-USA.

SMU is coming off a 94-83 home-victory against Houston on Saturday. The Mustangs had five players in double-figures and two record double-doubles. Papa Dia led the way with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Robert Nyakundi and Derek Williams each had 18 points. Williams also had eight assists and six rebounds. Rodney Clinkscales added 12 points and Mouhammad Faye scored 11 points with 10 rebounds.

SMU ranks second in C-USA in scoring defense in league play, allowing just 60.4 points per game. In C-USA games, the Mustangs have held opponents 12.0 points off their scoring average. Eleven of 14 foes have been held below their average with nine of them at least 11 points under their average. Three C-USA opponents have not reached 50 points. That marks the first time SMU has held three league opponents below 50 points since the 1957-58 season. The scoring defense in league play is the best for SMU since holding opponents to 52.3 per Southwest Conference game in 1951-52. SMU did hold league foes to 60.9 per outing in 1958-59.

SCENARIO TO FIFTH: SMU can finish as high as fifth in C-USA if Tulsa and SMU both are 9-7. To get there, SMU would have win at Tulsa on Wednesday and defeat Marshall at home Saturday. Tulsa would have to lose to the Mustangs and at Memphis on Saturday. The Mustangs and Tulsa would be 1-1 on the season for head-to-head. Next is record against teams higher in the standings. SMU and Tulsa are 0-2 against UTEP and 0-1 against UAB. Against Memphis, SMU is 1-1 and TU would have to be 0-2 with a loss at Memphis this Saturday. Memphis would have to have at least 12 wins in C-USA with the win over TU. Marshall could not get higher than 11 wins since SMU would have to win Saturday's matchup.

SMU NEEDS FIRSTS: In order for SMU to have a shot at fifth in C-USA, the Mustangs will have to add to some firsts. Entering the season, SMU had not defeated four league opponents since joining C-USA in 2005-06. SMU has already recorded its first league wins over Memphis (70-60 on Jan. 30) and Houston (94-83 on Feb. 27). The other two teams SMU has not defeated in a C-USA game are Tulsa (0-9) and Marshall (0-4).

Papa Dia: averaging 12.5 points (16th C-USA), 8.6 rebounds (6th C-USA), 1.3 blks (6th C-USA), 1.2 asts, and 0.8 stls while hitting 55.4% (3rd C-USA) and 80.7% FTs (4th C-USA).He has 8 or more rebounds 16 times this season. His 3.2 offensive rebounds per game are 3rd in C-USA. In C-USA games, he is at 14.1 points (12th C-USA), 9.0 rebounds (2nd C-USA), and 1.5 blocks (T-4th C-USA). DOUBLE-DOUBLES: He has nine double-doubles on the season (T-3rd C-USA) SWEET 16: His 16 rebounds at Tulane are the second-most in a C-USA game this year and tied for the most by an SMU player in a C-USA game (Ike Ofoegbu at Marshall 2/14/07). 500 & COUNTING: He has 552 career rebounds, ranking 25th at SMU. HUGE GAMES: Had 23 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal in 70-60 win vs. Memphis. Had career-high 31 points with 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal in 94-83 win vs. Houston.

Derek Williams: leads the team in scoring at 17.0 per game (4th C-USA) and has scored 20 or more points 10 times, including 6 C-USA games. He has 10 or more points in all but 4 games this year. He is averaging 3.6 assists (10th C-USA) and has a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio (9th C-USA). In league play, he is averaging 17.3 points (4th C-USA), 4.1 assists (8th C-USA) and has a 1.6 assist/turnover ratio (9th C-USA) while shooting 43.4% FG (14th C-USA) and 39.7% 3FG (5th C-USA). He has played 40 minutes in nine C-USA games and has only missed 9 minutes of game time in league play. SMU BEST IN C-USA: He is 4th in C-USA in scoring and is on pace to be the highest ranked scorer for SMU since joining C-USA in 2005-06. 800 IN 2 YEARS/500 IN ONE: He has 855 points at SMU and is just the 18th Mustang to have at least 800 points in any 2-year span. He has 475 points this season and would be just the 17th player to score 500 points in a season.

LAST GAME (Feb. 27 vs. Houston, W, 94-83): DALLAS (AP) - Papa Dia had a career-high 31 points while Robert Nyakundi and Derek Williams added 18 points each as SMU defeated Houston 94-83 on Saturday night. Mouhammad Faye had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Mustangs (14-14, 7-7 overall), who beat Houston for the first time in eight games since joining C-USA in 2005-06. Aubrey Coleman had 30 points and nine rebounds for the Cougars (14-14, 6-8), and Adam Brown added 17 points. Dia had 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double this season. SMU, which trailed 39-33 at halftime, was on fire in the second half, shooting 66.7 percent (16 of 24) with nine 3-pointers. Houston helped by getting whistled for 15 fouls--the Mustangs shot 23 free throws after intermission, making 20.

NOTES FROM THE HOUSTON GAME:
-SMU's 94 points are the second-most in a C-USA game by SMU and the most for SMU in a C-USA game that ended in regulation. SMU scored 99-96 double-overtime win against UTEP on 3/1/2008.
-This is SMU's first victory over Houston since joining C-USA in 2005-06 (now 1-7).
-This is the third time in four games and seventh time this season with four or more double-digit scorers for SMU (Clinkscales, Dia, Faye, Nyakundi, Williams). This is just the second time this season SMU has had five players reach double-digits.
-This is the third time in four games for SMU to have 10+ 3FGM.
Rodney Clinkscales: His 12 points set a personal best for a C-USA game.
Papa Dia: His career-high 31 points are the third-most by an SMU player in a C-USA game. His 12 rebounds make 11 double-digit rebounding games this season. This is his ninth double-double of the season, and fifth in C-USA play.
Mouhammad Faye: Recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. It was his fifth double-figure scoring effort in the last six games. Robert Nyakundi: Scored in double-digits for the eighth time this season.
Derek Williams: Had 18 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. His 17th 15+ point scoring game of the season. Played 40 minutes for ninth time this season. His 8 assists are his second-highest total of the season.

THE SERIES VS. TULSA (11-26): The Mustangs and Golden Hurricane are meeting for the 38th time with SMU trailing 26-11. The Mustangs are trying to snap a nine-game losing streak against Tulsa. SMU had won five straight before the current skid. The teams have been members of the same league since becoming Western Athletic Conference foes in 1996-97. Both teams transitioned to Conference USA in 2005-06.

THIS SEASON VS. TUSLA (Jan. 13 vs. Tulsa, L, 63-56): DALLAS (AP) -Justin Hurtt scored 17 points and Tulsa began the game with a 16-0 run in a 63-56 victory over SMU on Wednesday night. Reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Ben Uzoh had 16 points and four assists for the Golden Hurricane (13-3, 3-0), which beat SMU for the ninth consecutive time. The Mustangs (6-9, 0-2) got 15 points and a game-best 10 rebounds from Papa Dia. Mouhammad Faye scored 17 points, and Derek Williams had 10. Five Tulsa players scored during the opening spurt before Paul McCoy made a free throw after 7:09 had expired to get SMU on the board. Tulsa led 26-17 at halftime. SMU cut it to 34-30 on Faye's layup with 13:06 left. Tulsa rebuilt its edge to 55-38 with 6:03 to go, but SMU ran off the next 10 points to make it 55-48 with 3:35 left. The teams battled evenly from there.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
RODNEY CLINSCALES: Is averaging 4.6 points while shooting 39.0 percent from 3-point range (23-59).

Papa Dia: averaging 12.5 points (16th C-USA), 8.6 rebounds (6th C-USA), 1.3 blks (6th C-USA), 1.2 asts, and 0.8 stls while hitting 55.4% (3rd C-USA) and 80.7% FTs (4th C-USA).He has 8 or more rebounds 16 times this season. His 3.2 offensive rebounds per game are 3rd in C-USA. In C-USA games, he is at 14.1 points (12th C-USA), 9.0 rebounds (2nd C-USA), and 1.5 blocks (T-4th C-USA). DOUBLE-DOUBLES: He has nine double-doubles on the season (T-3rd C-USA), which is the most by an SMU player since Ike Ofoegbu (oh-fway-boo) had 10 in 2006-07. SWEET 16: His 16 rebounds at Tulane are the second-most in a C-USA game this year and tied for the most by an SMU player in a C-USA game (Ike Ofoegbu at Marshall 2/14/07). 500 & COUNTING: He has 552 career rebounds, ranking 25th at SMU. HUGE GAMES: Had 23 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal in 70-60 win vs. Memphis. Had career-high 31 points with 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal in 94-83 win vs. Houston. Had 17 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block in the 66-48 win at Tulane.

Mouhammad Faye: averaging career-bests of 10.7 points (3rd on team, 24th C-USA) and 5.3 rebounds (2nd on team, 18th C-USA). In the last six games, he is averaging 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 52.7 percent (29-55) and 44.8 percent from 3-point range (13-29). He has scored in double figures in five of the last six games with team-highs of 19 points against UTEP and 18 points at Memphis. DOUBLE-DOUBLES: He has two on the season, most recently with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the win against Houston. His first was 11 points and 12 rebounds against TCU on Dec. 2.

Justin Haynes: is averaging 5.6 points while shooting 60-for-100 on FGs (.600) for the season. He has scored 10 or more points five times this season. SMU is 7-1 when he leads the team in steals.

Paul McCoy: suffered a season-ending right knee injury at Southern Miss on Feb. 2. He was averaging 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals. He is also averaging 1.5 steals for his career, which ranks 8th at SMU.

Robert Nyakundi: in C-USA games, he is averaging 8.9 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 38.0 per-cent (27-71) from 3-point range (8th C-USA) and making 1.9 3FGs per game (9th C-USA). He was limited by knee and foot injuries for most of the non-conference schedule. He hit 11 straight 3-pointers earlier this season by making his last 2 at Rice 1/20, going 5-5 vs. Houston Baptist 1/23 and making his first four 3FG against UCF 1/27. BEYOND THE ARC: He ranks 4th at SMU in career 3FG percentage at 40.7 (81-199). His 42.3% this season would rank 7th at SMU. FREE POINTS: At the free throw line, he is 33-37 (.892) for the season and 27-30 in C-USA. He hit 18 straight before missing his last one at Houston on Feb. 13. He hit 27 straight in C-USA before that miss at Houston and is 35-39 (.897) for his career in league play.

Mike Walker: 21 of his 28 FGs this season are 3-pointers. He is 21-50 on 3FG (.420) for the season. His 3FG percentage would rank 8th in a season at SMU. Earlier this season, he hit 8 straight 3-pointers in a two game stretch in Dec. He was 4-4 vs. Texas State (Dec. 7) and hit his first 4 from long range (4-6) at Occidental (Dec. 19).

Derek Williams: leads the team in scoring at 17.0 per game (4th C-USA) and has scored 20 or more points 10 times, including 6 C-USA games. He has 10 or more points in all but 4 games this year. He is averaging 3.6 assists (10th C-USA) and has a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio (9th C-USA). In league play, he is averaging 17.3 points (4th C-USA), 4.1 assists (8th C-USA) and has a 1.6 assist/turnover ratio (9th C-USA) while shooting 43.4% FG (14th C-USA) and 39.7% 3FG (5th C-USA). He has played 40 minutes in nine C-USA games and has only missed 9 minutes of game time in league play. DOUBLE-DOUBLE: In the 65-43 win vs. UCF on 1/27, he had 12 points and a career-high 10 assists for SMU's first points-assists double-double since 11/24/02 (Bryan Hopkins vs. TCU 12 pts, 10 ast). TOEING THE LINE: He has 20 or more points in six league games with a high of 25 points (19 2nd half) in the 70-60 win over Memphis on 1/30. That included going 14-15 FTs (11-12 last 2 minutes). 800 IN 2 YEARS/500 IN ONE: He has 855 points at SMU and is just the 18th Mustang to have at least 800 points in any 2-year span. He has 475 points this season and would be just the 17th player to score 500 points in a season and the first since Bryan Hopkins (514) in 2003-04. SMU BEST IN C-USA: He is 4th in C-USA in scoring and is on pace to be the highest ranked scorer for SMU since joining C-USA in 2005-06 (Bryan Hopkins 7th in 2005-06 at 14.5 points. It would be the highest league rank for an SMU player since Hopkins finished 3rd in the Western Athletic Conference in 2003-04 at 17.7 points.)

TEAM NOTES:
DEFENSE: SMU has held its C-USA opponents to an average of 12.0 points below their scoring average entering the game. Nine of 14 league opponents have been held at least 11 points off their average. The opponent has reached its scoring average three times; at Rice (W, 73-65), at Memphis (L, 76-63) and at home against Houston (W, 94-83). Rice and Memphis were by less than a point. The largest dropoff was 32.8 at UTEP in the 49-45 loss on Jan. 6. (UTEP avg. was 81.8). SMU is second in C-USA in league play at 60.4. That is the best for SMU since holding opponents to 52.3 per Southwest Conference game in 1951-52. SMU did hold league foes to 60.9 per outing in 1958-59.

NEW C-USA HIGHS: The Mustangs have won seven games in C-USA, the most since joining the league in 2005-06. The three road wins in C-USA are also a best for the Mustangs. The 3-game win streak in C-USA (1/20 at Rice, 1/27 UCF, 1/30 Memphis) was also the longest in C-USA. SMU has assured its highest finish in the C-USA standings.

BIG WINS & CLOSE LOSSES: The Mustangs league wins are by an average of 12.0 points while the losses are by 6.4 points each (three by 4 points or less). HAPPY NEW YEAR: The Mustangs went 5-4 in January for the first winning January since going 6-3 in 2002-03. Then followed with a 4-4 February.

BETTER THAN 50/50: The Mustangs shot 50% or better in four straight games (1/16 UAB to 1/27 UCF) and eight times this season. SMU is 7-2 when shooting 50% or better this season.

OUTSHOOTING: The Mustangs are 14-4 when shooting better than the opponent. FG PCT UP: SMU is shooting 46.2% from the field (4th C-USA), the highest since 1988-89 (48.3%). The highest since then was 45.3% in 2004-05.

TURNOVERS: SMU is averaging 13.6 turnovers per game, the lowest since 2001-02 (13.7). That is down from 14.9 last season. SMU is averaging 13.0 turnovers in C-USA, down from 14.8 last season. SMU only had 5 turnovers against Tulsa on Jan. 13; the fewest by SMU in a C-USA game.

SCHEDULE: SMU went 7-7 in non-conference play, but had losses to five teams in the top-100 of the NCAA RPI (through Feb. 28): Texas A&M (14), UNLV (43), South Florida (67), Northeastern (72), and College of Charleston (93). In C-USA, SMU has a win over Memphis (64) while four SMU losses are to top-100 teams; UAB (35), UTEP (50), Memphis (64), and Tulsa (71).

20/20: SMU has had two 20-point scorers in four games this season. Derek Williams 25, Papa Dia 23 vs. Memphis 1/30 (W, 70-60); Derek Williams 27, Robert Nyakundi 20 vs. Houston Baptist 1/23 (W, 82-68); Derek Williams 22, Papa Dia 21 at Rice 1/20 (W, 73-65); Mouhammad Faye 21, Paul McCoy 20 vs. Texas A&M (L, 80-68). The HBU and UCF games marked the first time SMU had multiple 20-point scorers in consecutive games since 2005 (Bryan Hopkins 32 and Eric Castro 28 at Tulsa (W, 95-83 ot) in Jan. 1; Castro 22 and Patrick Simpson 20 against Fresno St. (W 74-63) on Jan. 6). SMU has had five different 20-point scorers this season (Papa Dia, Mouhammad Faye, Paul McCoy, Robert Nyakundi, Derek Williams) and is one of only three teams in C-USA (Houston, UTEP) to do so.

HALF CENTURY: SMU has held three conference opponents to less than 50 points for the first time since the 1957-58 season. SMU fell 49-45 at UTEP on Jan. 6, won 65-43 vs. UCF on Jan. 27 and won 66-48 at Tulane on Feb. 6. The 49-45 loss at UTEP was the first time SMU held a league opponent under 50 on the road since a 65-42 win at UTEP on March 1, 2003. SMU then won 78-50 against North Carolina Central on Jan. 9, marking the first time SMU held consecutive opponents to 50 points or less since 1992; Feb. 8 vs. Texas Tech (W, 51-47) and Feb. 11 vs. Texas A&M (W, 44-38).

LEAD THEM ALL: Against Florida Gulf Coast, Paul McCoy co-led SMU in points (18), rebounds (8), assists (3), steals (2). It was the second time he had led or co-led in all four categories; also doing so against East Carolina on Jan. 24, 2009. That was the first time for a Mustang since Bryan Hopkins against Marshall on Feb. 18, 2006.

FG 65%: SMU shot a season-best 65.3% for the game (32-49) against North Carolina Central on Jan. 9. It marked the first time the team shot 65% or better since Dec. 19, 2005, when SMU shot a school-record 69.4% (34-49) against Savannah State (W, 89-46).

STREAKS:
10+points: Derek Williams 5 (24, 20, 11, 13, 18), Papa Dia 4 (10, 10, 10, 31), Rodney Clinkscales (12), Mouhammad Faye (18), Robert Nyakundi (18)
8+ rebounds: Papa Dia (12), Mouhammad Faye (10)
Dbl-Dbl: Papa Dia (31 pts, 12 rebs), Mouhammad Faye (11 pts, 10 rebs)
5+ assists: Derek Williams (8)
3+ steals:
2+ blocks: Papa Dia (2)

MILESTONES:
SMU Career Rebounds: Papa Dia is 25th 552 (24th Gene Phillips 554, 23rd Mike Wilson 562, 22nd John Colborne 574, 21st Bamba Fall 576, 20th Bill Voight 580)
SMU Career 3FGM: Mike Walker is 14th 87 (13th Todd Alexander 92, 12th Chad Elsey 95); Robert Nyakundi is T-15th 81 (T-15th Dez Willingham 81)
SMU Career Assists: Derek Williams is 23rd 207 (22nd Justin Isham 212, 21st Quinton Ross 222)

DEFENSE: In C-USA games, SMU is holding foes well below their averages.

	Avg *	Scored	Diff	Result
at UTEP	81.8	49	-32.8	L, 49-45
Tulsa	78.4	63	-15.4	L, 63-56
UAB	70.4	63	-7.4	L, 63-62
at Rice	64.6	65	0.4	W, 73-65
UCF	68.2	43	-25.2	W, 65-43
Memphis	76.2	60	-16.2	W, 70-60
at Southern Miss	67.2	56	-11.2	L, 56-53
at Tulane	63.7	48	-15.7	W, 66-48
UTEP	76.9	62	-14.9	L, 62-51
at Houston	79.7	66	-13.7	L, 66-60
Rice	64.7	57	-7.7	W, 67-57
at Memphis	75.9	76	0.1	L, 76-63
at East Carolina	67.0	54	-13.0	W, 59-54
Houston	78.6	83	4.4	W, 94-83
at Tulsa	72.2
AVG ^	72.4	60.4	-12.0

* Average entering that game, ^ only includes games completed

BIG PICTURE (NOTES ENTERING THE 2009-10 SEASON)
1 - Last season, a first-year player led the team in scoring in 27 of 30 games, which was the highest percentage in the nation. Paul McCoy led 12 times as a freshman, Derek Williams led in scoring 10 times as a junior, Mouhammad Faye three times as a junior, and Robert Nyakundi led twice as a redshirt freshman.
2 - Last season Paul McCoy led the team in scoring 12 times, tying the SMU record for a freshman. He averaged 13.4 points per game en route to becoming the first freshman to ever lead SMU in scoring. McCoy also earned two C-USA Rookie of the Week honors. McCoy was selected preseason All-Conference USA By Blue Ribbon Yearbook for the 2009-10 season.
3 - The Mustangs' roster was all recruited by head coach Matt Doherty, which includes a Conference USA All-Freshman Team honoree each of the last two seasons; Paul McCoy (2008-09) and Papa Dia (2007-08). McCoy anchored a class rated as high as No. 33 nationally and Dia headlined a class rated as high as No. 24.
4 - The Mustangs now feature a more experienced lineup with two seniors, five juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen. The squad lost just one starter in Bamba Fall, a Conference USA All-Defensive Team selection. Overall, the squad returns six of its top seven scorers and 83.1 percent of last season's scoring, 67.9 percent of its rebounding, 90.1 percent of its assists, and 89.4 percent of its steals.
5 - The Mustangs improved in 13 of 19 statistical categories ranked by Conference USA from 2007-08 to 2008-09, including scoring, scoring defense, overall and 3-point field goal percentage, overall and 3-point field goal percentage defense, and rebounding margin.
6 - Senior Mouhammad Faye played for Senegal's National Team in the 2009 African Games in Libya. The Senegalese went 5-4 to finish seventh in the championship after winning Group C in the opening stage and winning Group F in the qualifying round. Faye was seventh in the tournament at 17.3 points per game while averaging 3.8 rebounds and shooting 46.7 percent. Faye also played for the Senegalese National Team in 2007 with Bamba Fall (2009 graduate). The 2007 squad finished ninth in the championships in Angola.
7 - For the second season, the NBA's Dallas Mavericks held training camp at SMU's Crum Basketball Center.
8 - Captains: Mouhammad Faye, Derek Williams and Paul McCoy were named team captains prior to the start of practice.

HEAD COACH Matt Doherty...is in his ninth season as a head coach and his fourth season at SMU. This is his 19th season in collegiate coaching with eight NCAA Tournaments, seven conference titles, a Final Four appearance and the 2001 AP National Coach of the Year award. He also has 22 players that have gone to the NBA. He has a 137-143 record including a 47-72 mark on the Hilltop.