At home for the final time in its inaugural ACC season, SMU looks to regain its rhythm Tuesday night against a Syracuse team aiming to do the exact same.
The Mustangs (21-8, 12-6 ACC) have not won consecutive games since a stretch of five wins from Jan. 25-Feb. 11. That coincides with the departure of leading scorer Boopie Miller from the starting lineup, as the junior point guard has been sidelined with a foot injury. Averaging 13.4 points and 5.7 assists per game, Miller’s status against Syracuse is unclear after missing SMU’s last five contests.
“He’s really improved in his injury and is rehabbing,” SMU head coach Andy Enfield said on the Varsity Network postgame show after Saturday’s 73-68 loss at Stanford. “We’re very hopeful he can come back next week.”
Syracuse (12-17, 6-12) was not as lucky with its major injury this season, losing freshman forward Donnie Freeman to a right foot injury for the remainder of the season. Freeman, who last appeared for the Orange on Jan. 4, was averaging 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Syracuse is 6-9 since Freeman exited the lineup and 1-4 in its last five.
“Every loss is tough,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said Saturday after the Orange fell in overtime to Virginia Tech. “But we’ll get ourselves ready to go fight in the next game. These guys have fought. There’s no quit in them, even though we came up on the wrong side of it. You have to keep battling. We’re playing for something.”
Both SMU and Syracuse have clinched spots in the 15-team ACC Tournament, but the seeding remains in question with five days left in the regular season. Syracuse is locked in a three-way tie with Cal and Notre Dame and would be the No. 13 seed based on current standings. SMU wants to hold on to the No. 4 seed, which would earn the Mustangs a double-bye to the quarterfinal round.
In Miller’s absence, Kario Oquendo has assumed a larger role for SMU and started the last five games after coming off the bench for the previous 19. Oquendo is averaging 13.0 points per game in this recent stretch, including a 25-point performance at Notre Dame.
J.J. Starling remains Syracuse’s focal point, starting all 22 games he has played in and averaging 18.3 points per game. Jaquan Carlos also contributes heavily to the Orange’s scoring attack with 3.9 assists per game, 10th-most in the ACC.
–Field Level Media
