The 24th ranked Dayton Flyers play their second game of the season Friday as they host the Southern Methodist University Mustangs. The Flyers, who play in the Atlantic 10, are 1-0 on the season while the Mustangs, who are in the American Athletic Conference, are also 1-0. These two teams played last season and SMU won at home 77-69. Can Dayton get some payback?
The SMU Mustangs won their season opener on Monday, beating Texas A&M Commerce of the Southland Conference by the score of 77-60. The Mustangs shot 50% from the floor and held their opponents to 35% shooting. They out rebounded their Southland Conference foe 42-34. Zhuric Phelps had a big game for the Mustangs, as he poured in 28 points with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
.@SMUBasketball Sophomore G Zhuric Phelps was electric in SMU's season opener against Texas A&M-Commerce. He kept SMU alive all night and finished with 28p, 5r, & 3a in 35 mins. I love Phelps' game and can't wait to see how he develops in a much bigger role this year. pic.twitter.com/iz9kkbLDsy
— Nikola Jovic Enthusiast (@MiaHeatFilmRoom) November 8, 2022
Zach Nutall had 12 points while Samuell Williamson had 11 points and 11 rebounds. In addition, Efe Odigie had 9 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first game under new coach Rob Lanier, who took over for Tim Jankovich, who retired. Lanier came over from Georgia State, where he has been the last three seasons. SMU is expected to finish near the bottom of the AAC, as they lost several key players from last year, including leading scorer Kendric Davis, who transferred to Memphis.