LINKS: Hoyas Look at SMU Mustangs

After a week off for the Georgetown Hoyas (7-2), and a 10-day break from the SMU Mustangs (6-4), the two teams will face each other in Washington, DC at noon (EST) on Saturday.

Here are the links:

Mustangs Travel To D.C. For Saturday Matchup With Georgetown | SMU Mustangs

Preseason All-AAC selection Jahmal McMurray is leading SMU in scoring (18.7, 3rd AAC) and is hitting 41.6 percent from 3-point range (4th AAC). His 3.7 threes made per game are second in the AAC and rank 15th nationally. Sophomore Ethan Chargois is averaging 13.8 points (17th AAC), 7.2 rebounds (5th AAC) and 1.0 blocked shots (12th AAC). Jimmy Whitt Jr. is third on the team at 11.8 points (24th AAC) and 6.3 rebounds (13th AAC) with a team-high 4.1 assists (9th AAC) and a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio (4th AAC) while shooting 49.5 percent. Nat Dixon is adding 6.6 points and hitting 38.9 percent from three.

SMU Mustangs vs. Georgetown Hoyas – 12/15/2018 Free Pick & CBB Betting Prediction | CappersPicks

Senior guard Jahmal McMcurray leads the team in scoring. He is shooting it really well and even though he is just 6ft he is not the point guard. He is a gunner. [] Jimmy Whitt is the glue guy on this team. Leading the team in assists and steals while being second in rebounding at just 6’3″. He scores but is not a strong shooter. [] Positionless basketball can work but you still need some size...

The Hoyas would be deadlly if they had more accurate shooters surrounding him. If they can get that they will at least be a threat in the Big East... Defense was intense back when Ewing was playing at G-Town but this year it has not been good enough. Look for it to steadily improve but not as quickly as program supporters would like.

Mustangs’ Rebounding Showcases Intensity And Effort | SMU MUSTANGS

SMU is averaging 13.7 offensive rebounds per game, the second-best mark in the American Athletic Conference and the 23rd-best in the NCAA. Four Mustangs (Whitt, Feron Hunt, Ethan Chargois, and Isiaha Mike) rank in the top 15 individually in the AAC in offensive rebounds. SMU has an offensive rebound percentage (the number of offensive rebounds in proportion to the total number of offensive rebounds available) of 39.3 percent, which is the eighth-best mark in the country. Crashing the offensive glass creates second- and third-chance opportunities. Even though the Mustangs shot 24 percent from the floor in the second half against TCU, they were in the game late because they grabbed 20 out of 41 available offensive rebounds, a staggering 48.7 percent.

Mustangs Fall To TCU | SMU Mustangs

SMU missed its first eight field goal attempts after halftime, but still had a 41-37 lead when Hunt drove for a layup to make it 41-37 with 13:27 left. TCU’s only two made baskets in the half until that point were a pair of 3s by Fisher...

The Mustangs had 10-point leads three different times in the first half. After their latest double-digit lead, TCU scored six in a row to cut it to 33-29 just before halftime when Alex Robinson had a layup, made a free throw and Fisher hit his first 3 of the game.

There was a moment of silence before the game for the late President George H.W. Bush. The 41st president’s son, George W. Bush, attends several SMU basketball games each season. The younger Bush’s presidential library is across the street from Moody Coliseum on the edge of the SMU campus.

SMU falls to 2-2 with loss to Lipscomb | The Daily Campus

Just four games into the season, SMU is already in serious trouble. The Mustangs lost to Lipscomb 79-73 Saturday night, dropping to 2-2 on the season, with neither loss coming to an impressive opponent.

Lipscomb looked like the crisper team throughout the contest. Despite having a smaller and less athletic squad, the Bisons ran smooth sets on offense that got their players good looks and competed hard on defense.

“I thought they played better defensively in our game than they had all year by far,” Tim Jankovich said.

Jahmal McMurray, who lit up Western Carolina in SMU’s last game, made just three of his 19 shots, and was called for an offensive foul on one of SMU’s late possessions. This is the yin and the yang of McMurray; he can shoot his team to a win, and shoot it out of a game.

Why SMU’s Tim Jankovich is against proposed changes to NCAA transfer rules | SportsDay Dallas

“I think everybody wins if they don’t change that rule,” Jankovich said. “It’s not in the student-athletes’ best interest, even though it seems like it is. How can that possibly be good where you just try to steal everybody’s players all the time?”

Akoy Agau, who transferred from Louisville to Georgetown before settling on SMU as a graduate transfer before this season, is in favor of the potential rule change, saying it gives student-athletes more freedom.

But he agreed that there should be guidelines, like the GPA requirement that has been floated.

(1984) Georgetown and Duke must be wondering whatever happened to... | UPI

The Hoyas needed a crucial tip-in by All-America center Patrick Ewing on a missed free throw with less than a minute left in a tense win that was more notable for its tactics than its good play.

’I didn’t think it was the big guy’s best game,’ said John Thompson, the Georgetown coach, referring to Ewing. ‘But I’ve always said he’s a prime-time player. He made the big play.’ ...

The Hoyas gradually built a 32-26, with less than eight minutes left, but SMU wasn’t done yet. Davis hit a short hook over Ewing in the key to tie it 34-34 with 2:46 remaining.

Ewing’s tip-in with 51 seconds left broke the tie and Michael Jackson gave the Hoyas a 37-34 lead with a foul shot with just eight seconds to go. That proved to be the decisive point when SMU’s Carl Wright hit a desperation heave at the buzzer.

Paul White plays on for Oregon Ducks basketball after three friends are killed in his hometown | The Register-Guard

White went on to play at Georgetown, but transferred following his sophomore season to Oregon, placing him outside a large metropolitan area for the first time in his life.

“While I was living in Chicago, you would hear about murders and just wave them off,” White said. “That’s just regular. You read the headlines, 60 or 70 people shot on a weekend, and you just go along with your life. You don’t digest that information to a point where it affects you.” ...

“I want to make some impact, I don’t want to be a regular resident living day-by-day,” White said. “I want to bring up some people in the community with me and create some change so that we can stop the system of violence so people can understand there is actually more of a future than just the block you are living on or the neighborhood you feel like protecting or the gang that has your back. There are more opportunities to life than gang-banging and violence.”

Three-Point Play: Wahab changes course, frosh commit, DC’s talent | Rivals Basketball Recruiting (Corey Evans)

Sources also told Rivals.com that while he will no longer make his college commitment this week, a decision should be made before the turn of the calendar year. Wahab doesn’t know where he wants to go, but the caveat here is that all five have a legitimate chance at his verbal commitment. This has been one of the more curious recruitments that I have covered in recent years and I would not be surprised with whichever program he ultimately chooses...

...Saturday evening, two local powerhouses, Paul VI Catholic and DeMatha Catholic, were pitted against two of the best nationally, Montverde Academy and IMG Academy, and all that we saw was a standing room-only crowd where more than 300 people were turned away at the door. It was practically the Nike Peach Jam in December. Beyond the amazing atmosphere and vibe, we were given two tremendous games with over 30 future Division I prospects. The best thing about it is that this is not just a one-time deal. This has become the norm every winter.