SMU Mustangs men's basketball
The SMU Mustangs men's basketball team represents Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I college basketball. In 104 years of basketball, SMU's record is 1,377–1,237. SMU has reached one Final Four, made 12 NCAA Tournament Appearances, won 16 Conference Championships, had 11 All-Americans, and 23 NBA Draft selections.
SMU finished the 2016–17 season with a 30–5 record, and won their second conference title in three years. They set the school record for single season wins, and returned to the NCAA Tournament following a postseason ban in the 2015–16 season.
History
1916: The Beginning
1916 was the inaugural season of SMU basketball where it went 12–2. SMU joined the Southwest Conference in the 1918–19 season. SMU won its first two conference titles in 1935 and 1937.1955–1967: The Doc Hayes Era (Golden Era of Pony Hoops)
Doc Hayes took over as SMU's head coach in 1947. By 1955 Hayes had SMU in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history advancing to the Sweet Sixteen and had won their first conference title in almost 20 years. The four year stretch from 1955–58, SMU went 77–28, won four consecutive Southwest Conference championships, and reached 3 Sweet Sixteen's while also reaching the school's only ever Final Four in the 1955-56 season, led by All-American Jim Krebs. SMU during the Doc Hayes era won 8 SWC championships and reached the NCAA tournament 6 times including Final Four and Elite Eight appearances. Doc Hayes retired after the 1967 season with a final record of 298–191 at SMU.1968–1993: The Fall to Mediocrity
Following Doc Hayes, SMU basketball fell down into a period of mediocrity with some sprinkled success highlighted by SMU greats Jon Koncak, Ira Terrell, and Gene Phillips. Though the Bob Prewitt and Sonny Allen eras were largely unsuccessful and only produced one Southwest Conference Championship during a stretch between 1968 and 1980 the program looked to be back on the rise during the Dave Bliss era. Bliss and star big man Jon Koncak led SMU to 3 NCAA tournament appearances and an NIT appearance. The Dave Bliss era was highlighted by his final season where SMU went 28–7 winning the SWC regular season and tournament championships and making it to the Second round of the NCAA Tournament. SMU would win the SWC Championship and reach the NCAA tournament one more time in the 1993 season under John Shumate, however, this was the start of the Dark Ages of SMU basketball.1994–2012: The Dark Ages
This period was the dark age for SMU basketball. From 1994 to 2012 SMU had just seven winning seasons and did not win any conference titles or reach the NCAA tournament. The Mustangs only reached the NIT and CIT once each during these nineteen years.2012–2016: The Larry Brown Era
The reemergence of SMU basketball occurred when Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown took over the Mustangs in the 2012 season, coinciding with the $48 million renovation of Moody Coliseum. By his second season, he had led SMU to a 27–10 record, and to a championship appearance in the NIT. In his third season, led by Nic Moore, SMU won its first conference title in 22 years, and returned to the NCAA tournament, losing a controversial game to UCLA on a goaltending call. In the 2015–16 season, SMU was banned from postseason play due to NCAA violations, but still managed to start the season with an unprecedented 18–0 record, peaking at the #8 spot in the AP Poll, and finish the season at 25–5. It was SMU's third straight 25+ win season. In the summer of 2016, Brown stepped down as SMU's basketball coach unexpectedly, finishing with a record of 85–39. He currently holds the third-highest W-L percentage of any head coach in SMU basketball history.2016–2024: Maintaining Success (Post Larry Brown)
Tim Jankovich took over in the summer of 2016 following the departure of Larry Brown. In his first full season as SMU's head coach, SMU achieved a 30–4 overall record, including a 17–1 in-conference record, and finished ranked #11 in the AP Poll. The Mustangs won the 2016–17 American Athletic Conference regular season and conference tournament titles, and received a bid to the NCAA tournament as a 6 seed, where they were upset by 11th seeded USC by one point in the opening round. Following the season, Junior standout Semi Ojeleye announced that he would not be returning for his final year, joining seniors Sterling Brown andBen Moore in entering the NBA draft where both Ojeleye and Brown were selected 37th and 46th overall, respectively. Ben Moore spent 27 games with the G League team, Fort Wayne Mad Ants where he averaged 11.4 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game. He was recently signed to a two way contract with the Indiana Pacers on January 12, 2018. This marks the first time an SMU player has been drafted since 2001. This is also the first time SMU has ever had 3 players join their first NBA rosters in the same season, topping the previous high of 1.
2024: Move to the ACC
In July 2024, SMU left The American for the Atlantic Coast Conference, returning SMU to the power-conference ranks for the first time since the collapse of the Southwest Conference.Postseason
Complete NCAA tournament results
The Mustangs have appeared in 12 NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 10–14.The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1978 edition.
| 1955 | Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | L 79–81 L 67–68 | ||
| 1956 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National 3rd Place Game | Texas Tech Houston Oklahoma City San Francisco Temple | W 68–67 W 89–74 W 84–63 L 68–86 L 81–90 | |
| 1957 | Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | Kansas | L 65–73 OT W 78–68 | |
| 1965 | Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | Wichita State Houston | L 81–86 W 89–87 | |
| 1966 | Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | Kansas | L 70–76 W 89–84 | |
| 1967 | Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | Houston | W 83–81 L 75–83 | |
| 1984 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 | W 83–69L 36–37 |
| 1985 | #5 | First Round Second Round | #12 Old Dominion | W 85–68L 57–70 |
| 1988 | #7 | First Round Second Round | #10 Notre Dame
| W 83–75L 79–94 |
| 1993 | #10 | First Round | #7 BYU | L 71–80 |
| 2015 | #6 | First Round | #11 UCLA | L 59–60 |
| 2017 | #6 | First Round | #11 USC | L 65–66 |
NIT results
The Mustangs have appeared in seven National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 6–7.| 1986 | First Round | L 63–67 | |
| 2000 | First Round | L 64–77 | |
| 2014 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final | UC Irvine LSU California Clemson Minnesota | W 68–54 W 80–67 W 67–65 W 65–59 L 63–65 |
| 2021 | First Round | Boise State | L 84–85 |
| 2022 | First Round Second Round | Nicholls Washington State | W 68–58 L 63–75 |
| 2024 | First Round | Indiana State | L 101–92 |
| 2025 | First Round Second Round | Northern Iowa Oklahoma State | W 73–63 L 85–83 |
CIT results
The Mustangs have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Their record is 3–1.| 2011 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Oral Roberts Northern Iowa Santa Clara | W 64–57 OT W 63–62 W 57–50 L 55–72 |
CCA/NCIT results
The Mustangs appeared in one of the two National Commissioners Invitational Tournaments, in 1974, and went 0–1.| 1974 | Quarterfinals | USC | L 80–82 |
Notable players
Mustangs and the NBA
NBA draft picks
| 1949 | – | 63 | Bob Prewitt | New York Knicks | 0 |
| 1951 | 7 | 68 | Jack Brown | Rochester Royals | 0 |
| 1957 | 1 | 3 | Jim Krebs | Minneapolis Lakers | 515 |
| 1957 | 10 | 98 | Bobby Mills | St. Louis Hawks | 0 |
| 1958 | 6 | 47 | Rick Herrscher | St. Louis Hawks | 0 |
| 1961 | 9 | 83 | Steve Strange | Chicago Packers | 0 |
| 1962 | 4 | 35 | Jan Loudermilk | Los Angeles Lakers | 0 |
| 1964 | 4 | 34 | Gene Elmore | San Francisco Warriors | 0 |
| 1966 | 6 | 52 | Carroll Hooser | Detroit Pistons | 56 |
| 1967 | 7 | 74 | Charlie Beasley | Cincinnati Royals | 281 |
| 1969 | 16 | 196 | Bill Voight | Milwaukee Bucks | 0 |
| 1969 | 17 | 202 | Lynn Phillips | Milwaukee Bucks | 0 |
| 1971 | 7 | 119 | Gene Phillips | Milwaukee Bucks | 31 |
| 1974 | 6 | 97 | Sammy Hervey | Atlanta Hawks | 0 |
| 1976 | 3 | 45 | Ira Terrell | Phoenix Suns | 127 |
| 1980 | 2 | 45 | Brad Branson | Detroit Pistons | 72 |
| 1985 | 1 | 5 | Jon Koncak | Atlanta Hawks | 784 |
| 1985 | 5 | 113 | Carl Wright | Philadelphia 76ers | 0 |
| 1986 | 6 | 125 | Kevin Lewis | San Antonio Spurs | 0 |
| 1987 | 5 | 105 | Terry Williams | Golden State Warriors | 0 |
| 2001 | 1 | 22 | Jeryl Sasser | Orlando Magic | 82 |
| 2017 | 2 | 37 | Semi Ojeleye | Boston Celtics | 53 |
| 2017 | 2 | 46 | Sterling Brown^ | Philadelphia 76ers | 34 |
| 2018 | 2 | 54 | Shake Milton^ | Dallas Mavericks | 20 |
Notable undrafted players
| 1948 | Roy Pugh | 23 |
| 1967 | Denny Holman | 46 |
| 1988 | Carlton McKinney | 9 |
| 2003 | Quinton Ross | 458 |
| 2017 | Ben Moore | 2 |
| 2021 | Feron Hunt | 2 |
Mustangs in international leagues
- Jalen Jones, player for Hapoel Haifa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Ike Ofoegbu, American-Nigerian Israeli Premier Basketball League player
- Isiaha Mike, player for JL Bourg in the French LNB Pro A and in EuroCup
Awards
AAC Player of the Year| Nic Moore | 2015, 2016 |
| Semi Ojeleye | 2017 |
| Kendric Davis | 2022 |
AAC Tournament MVP
| Markus Kennedy | 2015 |
| Semi Ojeleye | 2017 |
AAC Sixth Man of the Year
| Markus Kennedy | 2016 |
| Ben Emelogu | 2017 |
WAC Player of the Year
| Jeryl Sasser | 1999 |
| Quinton Ross | 2003 |
SWC Player of the Year
| Rick Herrscher | 1958 |
| Denny Holman | 1967 |
| Gene Phillips | 1970 |
| Ira Terrell | 1976 |
| Mike Wilson | 1993 |
All-Americans
SMU has had 12 All-Americans:2016-2017 Semi Ojeleye ; 2015–16 Nic Moore ; 2014–15 Nic Moore ; 2002–03 Quinton Ross ; 1984–85 Jon Koncak ; 1975–76 Ira Terrell ; 1970–71 Gene Phillips ; 1969–70 Gene Phillips ; 1959–60 Max Williams ; 1956–57 Jim Krebs ; 1955–56 Jim Krebs ; 1934–35 Whitey Baccus