The SMU Mustangs extended their winning streak to five on Tuesday night with a dominant 83-63 win over Pitt in a game with massive NCAA Tournament implications. The Mustangs had control of this one from start to finish as they did not trail for the entire game and held a double digit lead for 32 minutes.
SMU got off to a hot shooting start going 5 for 7 from behind the arc while Pitt just could not find any sort of consistent scoring. There was an obvious difference for the Panthers on the offensive end without guard Damian Dunn who is likely out for the rest of the year with an elbow injury.
While Pitt simply just struggled to make shots tonight, much credit is due to SMU for some smothering and disciplined defensive play. Pitt gained a bit of momentum ending the first half on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 14 but did not take any of that energy into the second half of play. When you combine Pitt’s 31.8% shooting from the floor with 12 turnovers and losing the points in the paint battle by 20, it makes it very hard to win a basketball game no matter who you're playing.
SMU got a steady dose of scoring as four players reached double figures with Samet Yigitoglu and Kario Oquendo scoring 17 each. The Panthers were led by big Guillermo Diaz Graham with 15 points and 8 rebounds while their second leading scorer on the season Ishmael Leggett severely struggled shooting 29% from the floor including 0 for 8 from three point range.
Looking ahead, this was a massive win for SMU who sat in the last four in/first four out in bracketology projections prior to this game. Their focus now turns to Saturday night as they welcome in another bubble team in Wake Forest.
On the other end this is now Pitt’s fourth straight loss, including an embarrassing double digit loss at home to Virginia, putting them way on the outside and looking in. Now I am not a certified bracketologist, but with a 1-8 record in Quad 1 games and what looks like only two remaining opportunities to get a Quad 1 or 2 win, I would describe Jeff Capel's squads chances of making the tournament now as extremely slim to none.