Previewing Syracuse men’s basketball’s bout with SMU
After overcoming Cal in double-overtime Wednesday, Syracuse men’s basketball hosts SMU Saturday. Matthew Crisafulli | Staff Photographer
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Wednesday looked like the beginning of the end for Syracuse’s current era. As SU Director of Athletics John Wildhack announced his intention to retire, questions arose on the future status of head coach Adrian Autry. Amid the Orange’s bout with Cal, power surges shut the game down multiple times.
Still, Syracuse escaped with a win and proved it isn’t totally dead yet. The Orange have a long way to go toward March Madness, going just 1-6 in Quad 1 games thus far and needing a monumental ACC Tournament run to change its fortunes. A win over SMU Saturday wouldn’t hurt either.
The Mustangs have already knocked off North Carolina and Texas A&M this season and currently rank as a nine seed in the NCAA Tournament, per Joe Lunardi’s recent Bracketology.
Here’s everything to know about SMU (17-7, 6-5 ACC) before it faces Syracuse (14-11, 5-7 ACC) Saturday in the JMA Wireless Dome:
All time series
Syracuse trails 0-2.
Last time they played
SMU ended Syracuse’s 2024-25 season in the ACC Tournament Second Round, beating the Orange 73-53. SU fell behind by just three at halftime, but the Mustangs caught fire in the second half to pull away early.
J.J. Starling led Syracuse with 16 points, though center Eddie Lampkin Jr. was held to just two shots after dropping 14 the night before versus Florida State. The Orange went 6-for-22 from 3 as SMU tallied four players in double digits. SU’s loss ended the worst season in decades for the program, adding pressure to the current state of Autry’s tenure.
KenPom Odds
Syracuse has a 40% chance of winning, with a projected score of 78-81.
The Mustangs report
In their second year under head coach Andy Enfield, the Mustangs are soaring toward another 20-plus win season. SMU reached the NIT Second Round a season ago, and it’s on pace to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2016-17 season.
Leading the charge again for Enfield and Co. in their second season is Boopie Miller. The Mustangs lost No. 2 and No. 3 options Chuck Harris and Matt Cross to graduation, but Miller, as the leading scorer, returned and elevated his game.
SMU brought in Jaron Pierre Jr. from Jacksonville State to star alongside Miller and B.J. Edwards has grown into another strong guard for the Mustangs in his third year with the program. Corey Washington joined from Wichita State and at center, Samet Yiğitoğlu returned for his sophomore campaign.
SMU is ranked No. 37 per KenPom and No. 39 per EvanMiya CBB Analytics. Miller’s individual production is staggering based on EvanMiya’s Bayesian Performance Rating metric. Miller has a 6.16 OBPR, the 20th best in all of college basketball.
As a team, SMU is 15th in the country in offensive adjusted efficiency with a 124.0 mark. The Mustangs’ overall effective field goal mark is 56.4%, the 26th best in the nation. SMU’s defense is less impressive, however. While ranking second in the ACC in points per game (86.5), the Mustangs are 16th in the ACC with 77.6 points against per game.
How Syracuse beats SMU
There are a few ways the Orange can win this one and roll into Duke on a two-game winning streak. First, just as Syracuse needed to do against Cal, it must limit SMU from beyond the arc. The Mustangs rank 22nd in the country from 3 at 37.9%. Holding them below this metric would force Miller to drive inside and others to get involved.
Another way SU can win is simply executing offensively against a poor defense. Syracuse certainly is no offensive juggernaut, and the recent slide of Donnie Freeman is concerning. But teams have proven to score points against the Mustangs in the ACC, including seven of 12 teams dropping 75 or more points against them. If the Orange can show any signs of a competent offense, they can stay within reach all afternoon.
Stat to know: 32
Saturday will mark 32 days since Syracuse has won multiple games in a row. The Orange knocked off Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Florida State at the beginning of January to produce a three-game winning streak, moving them to 3-1 in conference play. SU then lost four straight games, and six of its last eight.
After knocking off Notre Dame, the Orange then lost to North Carolina. Now, after beating Cal, SU can win multiple games in a row again. Taking down the Mustangs is no easy task, however, and would be Syracuse’s second-best win of the year behind its upset over Tennessee.
Player to watch: Boopie Miller, guard, No. 2
Miller is in his fifth college year and second with the Mustangs. The Chicago, Illinois, native is averaging 19.2 points per game, sixth most in the conference. Miller has gradually increased his production year to year, increasing from 13.2 points per game last season.
He has improved his facilitating skills, moving from 5.5 assists per game to 6.8. Where Miller has seen the most growth in his game is from beyond the arc. Miller is shooting 41% from 3 and attempting 4.6 attempts per game. He shot just 34.1% from deep last season. Similar to how Dai Dai Ames succeeded against SU’s guards, Miller might just do the same.
