SMU heads to Cal with a Quad 1 shot on the line as Boopie Miller and the Mustangs’ top-ranked ACC offense look to climb toward March Madness.
SMU isn’t tiptoeing into March. The Mustangs are kicking the door in - and Wednesday night at Cal is the kind of game that can turn “nice season” into “don’t want to play them.”
Andy Enfield’s crew rolls into Berkeley at 19-8 (8-6 ACC) with momentum, metrics and a scoreboard addiction.
SMU sits No. 31 in the NCAA NET, is receiving votes in the AP Top 25, and owns a résumé that screams “dangerous”: 10 games against Quad 1 opponents (4-6) and six against Quad 2 (4-2).
This trip is simple ... steal a road win, boost the bracket, and keep climbing.
The Mustangs have won two straight and four of their last five, capped by a 94-70 throttle job of Boston College. That game was a slow burn that turned into a bonfire as SMU outscored BC 65-34 over the final 22-plus minutes, finished the first half on an 11-0 run, then dropped the hammer with a 54-34 second half.
Six Mustangs hit double figures, including Jermaine O’Neal Jr. (16), B.J. Edwards (15), Samet Yigitoglu (15), Jaron Pierre Jr. (13), Jaden Toombs (13) and Boopie Miller (11).
The defense held BC to 33.3 percent shooting while SMU hit 55.7.
The leader on the court is Boopie Miller, one of the best guards in the country most casual fans still don’t talk about enough.
He’s averaging 18.7 points (6th in the ACC) and 6.9 assists (1st in the ACC, 10th nationally) with a clean 2.75 assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s also shooting 41.9. percent from 3-point range and 87.1 percent at the line, which is basically a nightmare profile for a road game.
And he’s not alone.
SMU has five players averaging double figures in Jaron Pierre Jr. (17.6), B.J. Edwards (13.0), Corey Washington (11.4) and Yigitoglu (10.8). Yigitoglu is a problem in the paint - 7.9 rebounds (7th ACC), 1.4 blocks (6th ACC), and a ridiculous 3.48 offensive boards per game (2nd ACC, 22nd nationally).
Edwards is the chaos agent: 2.4 steals per game (1st ACC, 13th nationally), plus he’s one of only two players in the nation with multiple triple-doubles.
And then there’s what SMU does best ... score.
The Mustangs lead the ACC in scoring offense (86.8), assists (17.9), and sit near the top in shooting - 50.0 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from deep.
Cal is 19-8 (7-7 ACC) and Haas Pavilion isn’t a charity stop. But SMU already proved last season it can win in Berkeley, taking an 81-77 decision in 2025.
If the Mustangs want to turn “receiving votes” into a number next to their name, this is the night to do it.