Nov. 12, 2009
SOUTH FLORIDA Bulls (0-0) at SMU Mustangs (0-0) - Fri. Nov. 13 - 7:30 p.m. - Moody Coliseum (8,998) - Radio: KAAM 770 AM - Internet: SMUMustangs.com
Game Notes in PDF Format 
The SMU Mustangs open the 2009-10 season at home against South Florida on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Head Coach Matt Doherty opens his fourth season on the Hilltop. The Mustangs and South Florida Bull are meeting in the season-opener for the second straight season. USF won 60-46 in Tampa on Nov. 14, 2008. SMU owns a 2-1 advantage in the series as the programs meet for the fourth time.
IN OPENERS: This is the Mustangs 94th season of basketball. SMU is 55-38 in season openers. Head Coach Matt Doherty is 4-4 in season openers, including SMU's buzzer-beating 57-55 win against Illinois State in 2006-07 and a 75-61 loss to Southern in the 2007-08 SMU Tip-Off Classic, and a 60-46 loss at South Florida to open last season.
IN HOME OPENERS: The Mustangs are 60-33 all-time in home openers. SMU is 39-14 in home openers at Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs have won 12 of the last 13 home openers. Under Doherty, the Mustangs are 2-1 in their Moody Coliseum debuts including a 53-48 victory over Dayton in 2006-07, the 75-61 loss to Southern in 2007-08, and a 79-60 triumph against Houston Baptist last season.
THE SERIES: SMU is 2-1 against South Florida after falling 60-46 in Tampa for the 2008-09 season-opener. The Mustangs won 79-65 at home on Dec. 6, 1986 and then scored an 87-66 victory at South Florida on Dec. 14, 1987. The Bulls are scheduled to return to Moody Coliseum in Dallas next season. The Mustangs are 8-17 against current members of the Big East.
LAST SEASON (N14, 2008 at USF): TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - South Florida beat SMU 60-46 in the season opener for both teams as the Bulls' Jesus Verdejo scored 18 points, 11 of which came in the second half. The Mustangs major contributions on offense came from the new backcourt of Derek Williams and Paul McCoy. The duo combined for 23 points, with Williams scoring 13. Robert Nyakundi also scored five points giving SMU 28 points from players making their debut. Bamba Fall had four points, six rebounds and two blocks. Alex Malone and Papa Dia each had five points and Ryan Harp added four with a team-high seven rebounds. Verdejo scored 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to twice put the Bulls ahead by 14. The second time with 3:08 remaining. The Mustangs got within six at 43-37 when McCoy hit one of two free throws with 9:22 left in the game. A 10-2 run over the next five minutes put the game out of reach. Dominique Jones chipped in with 13 for the Bulls. South Florida converted six of their 21 3-point attempts, four of which came from Verdejo. Alex Rivas Sanchez hit back-to-back shots to give South Florida its first lead, 18-17, with 6:44 left in the first half. The Bulls led 32-23 at the break despite missing 10 of 12 attempts from behind the arc. The Mustangs' largest lead was 6 at 8-2 with 14:11 left in the opening half. The two teams last met in 1987, with SMU beating South Florida 87-66.
QUICK TAKE
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 SMUrecord 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 - SMU has made 589 three-pointers in head coach Matt Doherty's first three seasons. That is the best mark for any 3-year period in SMU history.
7 - 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 then-Mustang Bamba Fall (2009 graduate). The 2007 squad finished ninth in the championships in Angola.
8 - For the second straight season, the NBA's Dallas Mavericks held training camp at SMU's Crum Basketball Center.
9 - The 2009-10 schedule includes at least 11 games against 2009 postseason teams and a minimum of 10 games against last season's RPI top-100 including Memphis, Tulsa and UNLV. The Ponies host 17 home games at Moody Coliseum, including eight games against Conference USA foes. The season starts with six consecutive home games, beginning with South Florida on Nov. 13 and Texas A&M on Nov. 16. Metroplex rival TCU visits Moody Coliseum for the State Farm DFW Duel on Dec. 2.
10 - The 2009-10 slate includes the inaugural Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu from Dec. 22-25. The Ponies face UNLV on ESPNU in the opening round on Dec. 22. The Mustangs then face either College of Charleston or Hawaii on Dec. 23. The squad's third matchup will be Northeastern, Saint Mary's, USC or Western Michigan on Dec. 25.
11 - Captains: Mouhammad Faye, Derek Williams and Paul McCoy were named team captains prior to the start of practice.
