SMU will take on Utah State in the winner's bracket of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii tomorrow. SMU pulled off a moderate upset of Iona in their opening round matchup to improve to 4-7 on the season. Meanwhile, Utah State improved to 10-1 on the season after blowing out Seattle 84-56. Game time is scheduled for 7:00pm EST.
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The SMU Mustangs resembled last year's 20-win team in the opening round against Iona. The Mustangs scored 85 points and shot 60% from the field to pick up just their fourth win of the season against seven losses. SMU outscored Iona 50-40 in the second half to pull away for the close win. Zach Nutall led SMU with 24 points while shooting 11-of-16 from the field. Zhruic Phelps added 20 points for the Mustangs, who shot 60% from the field in the win.
Thanks @Stephen_Speaks for giving our managers a shoutout during the broadcast last night! Nobody in our program works harder than these guys!! @SMU_Managers @ManagerGames_ pic.twitter.com/uxgKnPBs2e
— Joe Popovich Jr. (@JoePopovichJr) November 13, 2019
SMU's offense made a rare appearance in their opening round win. The Mustangs are ranked just 256th in the country in scoring this season but produced 85 points against Iona's defense. The Mustangs are ranked just 111th in turnovers this season and they stayed true to form with 21 turnovers against Iona. They did force 18 turnovers in the game. Despite ranking just 317th in the country in 3pt field goal accuracy, SMU did knock down 46% of their long range shots.