February 28, 2026; Stanford, California, USA; Southern Methodist University Mustangs guard Boopie Miller (2) dribbles against Stanford Cardinal guard Benny Gealer (5) during the second half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Not long ago, SMU had a solid showing in the NCAA Tournament.
That assumption carried over into the perilous situation heading into the Mustangs’ regular-season finale against Florida State on Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida.
SMU (19-11, 8-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) has lost its last three games after going 0-2 on the road in California with a 77-69 loss at home to No. 22 Miami on Wednesday.
That put the Mustang firmly on the foam. They were listed as one of the final four teams in ESPN’s latest bracket update posted Friday, which takes into account their No. 38 NET ranking and No. 46 Wins Above Bubble (WAB).
SMU focuses on what you can control.
“People only remember the last time they saw you,” SMU guard Jermaine O’Neal Jr. said. “If we win our next game and win the ACC Tournament or go as far as we can, no one will be talking about those three games.”
In a familiar theme for SMU this season, Boopie Miller (18.9 points per game) and Jaron Pierre Jr. (17.9) combined for 48 points in the win over the Hurricanes.
However, without BJ Edwards (12.7 points) for the second straight game due to an ankle injury, the team recorded a combined 9-of-28 shooting (32.1%).
Pierre scored 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting in SMU’s 83-80 home win over Florida State on Jan. 24. The game saw 10 draws and 12 lead changes.
The Seminoles (16-14, 9-8) have no hope of making the NCAA Tournament unless they win the ACC Tournament next week. But they have dealt a blow to the high hopes of quite a few of their conference opponents following a recent surge that has seen them win nine of their last 12 games.
The last game was a dramatic 75-74 win at Pitt on Tuesday as the Seminoles nearly blew a 24-point second-half lead.
Chauncey Wiggins and Lajae Jones each scored 18 points and made seven 3-pointers for Florida State. After making 8 of 14 shots in the first half, they made just 3 of 13 shots in the first half.
This strong response after starting 0-5 in ACC play puts Florida State among the teams on the bubble in the conference standings.
The Seminoles are a No. 8 ACC seed (one game ahead of SMU) entering Saturday, but could move up or down depending on the results.
“The reality is we have several teams together: us, SMU, Cal and even Louisville,” Seminoles coach Luke Loucks said. “We could go from seventh to 10th or 11th. It would mean a lot (compared to SMU).”
–Field level media
