Temple Slow Start May Have Caused SMU Relaxing Later
DALLAS — SMU'S 77-64 win over Temple on Tuesday night wasn't as impressive as maybe some folks thought it should have been, but that wasn't the Mustangs' fault. The Owls were really that bad, not scoring for the first six minutes of the game, which gave a clue how bad they were.
No, this season is about the postseason and to be playing as far into March as possible for the Ponies. Teams on the right path are starting to come together at his point of the season from a chemistry standpoint. They may be starting get there.
"We're becoming one of the more connected teams that I've been around," coach Rob Lanier said after the win. "That's enjoyable to see young people locked in together trying to accomplish something together. We're developing it to a more and more connected team, you get tested."
Chuck Harris' 18 points was a big part of the win. He was 5-of-10 shooting, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range, and 4-for-4 from the line for the Mustangs (12-5, 3-1 American Athletic Conference). Samuell Williamson scored 17 points while shooting 7-of-11 from the field and 3-for-4 from the line, and added 12 rebounds. B.J. Edwards finished 4-of-4 from the field to finish with 10 points, while adding six assists and three steals.
Jumping out to that big lead and Temple not being able to do much of anything to slow it down creates a natural tendency to relax a little. It's hard to maintaining the intensity with such a fast start.
"We allowed our juice and energy to be affected by the fact that the game didn't continue to go the way that it started and that somebody spoiled out our little party," Lanier said. "There's some growth inside of that, that you can start playing the score. We say all the time there is a difference between assuming and expecting. If you go into a game assuming that it's going to go by a certain script, and it doesn't go that way, that's really a sign of teams that are prepared. Preparation creates tremendous expectations and that's what we're developing."
SMU Mustangs' guard Chuck Harris puts up a shot against the Temple Owls in a 77-64 win at Moody Coliseum in Dallas on Tuesday night.
SMUMustangs.com
Every coach fights against that when they simply have a better team. They all hate it because they are trying to develop consistency and not letting players get the idea they can turn things on and off whenever they want. This team may be reaching the point where Lanier wants to keep them playing at a certain level, regardless of what the other team does. If it gets too lopsided, it's not Lanier's job to teach the other team defense.
"When the score got up we did, we started assuming how the rest of the script was going to play out and when it didn't, it took some of the energy that we started the game with," Lanier said. "It was a good lesson for us. Because the juice on the bench and in the huddles, you watch some of our games even when you watch on TV, you see a bench that is so engaged and a group that's out there talking. We lost some of that today when things weren't going according to script and we got to be better than that."
They may get a chance to test that theory again Saturday when Tulsa comes to town. That game tips off at 2 p.m. and you can watch on ESPN+ and listen on KAAM-770 A.M. in Dallas.
PONY EXPRESS:
SMU HAS EVOLVED INTO AAC TITLE CONTENDERS, NCAA TOURNAMENT THREAT
PONIES' FALL SPORTS PROGRAMS LAY CLAIM TO ONE FINAL AAC DISTINCTION, GARNER NATIONAL RECOGNITION
SMU SWITCHES OUT ONE ARKANSAS RAZORBACK FOR EVEN BIGGER TANK
TAUREAN CARTER CHANGES MIND, NOW HEADING TO COLORADO FOR ONE MORE YEAR
