The SMU Mustangs had to sweat it out but they're racing back to the NCAA Tournament as one of the Last Four In. A trip to Dayton awaits for a program seeking its first run in March Madness.
For the first time since 2017, SMU saw its name called during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. The Mustangs started the season off strong, even making an AP Top 25 appearance at No. 24, but injuries and losses tripped them up late.
Despite the rocky road, SMU is back in the Big Dance and has the chance to rewrite a history of miscues in March.
While the Mustangs have never been perennial staples of March Madness, they have racked up 12 all-time appearances and four since the field expanded to 64 in 1985. In those four most-recent trips, they have won only two games and never advanced to the second weekend.
The silver lining for SMU is this season's squad has already shown they can compete with the best of the sport. In its second year back in a major conference, the Mustangs notched wins over ranked squads North Carolina and Louisiana.
Outside of the ACC, they downed fellow a NCAA Tournament team in Texas A&M. While close only counts in horseshoes, the Ponies gave ACC champion Duke all they could handle in a 82-75 loss in Durham.
Another upside for SMU headed into postseason play is the team is starting to get healthy.
Standout guard B.J. Edwards is expected to return to the court after suffering an injury against Cal in the ACC Tournament. He's averaging close to 13 points per game this season for the Mustangs, who struggled to score in his absence in their following tournament game with Louisville. While the turnaround to Wednesday doesn't leave an abundance of time for Edwards to rest, the program is optimistic about his return.
While SMU is aiming for a storybook ending to its season, its first opponent is already getting crowned as this season's most-likely 'Cinderella.'
Miami University from Oxford, Ohio has garnered national attention throughout the regular season after posting a perfect 31-0 record. The RedHawks soared to the top of tournament discussion due to questions over the validity of its spotless record.
Following a first round exit to 8-seed UMass in the MAC Tournament, it seemed that Miami may not get the chance to dance. However, the NCAA Selection Committee chose them as one its final at-large teams and seeded them as the last team in the field.
It seems fitting that if SMU wants to flip the script on its NCAA Tournament history, it will have to take down one of the biggest stories in the sport's recent memory in the process. The Mustangs and RedHawks tip off from Dayton Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. CT on truTV. With a win, SMU moves into the Round of 64 to take on the Midwest Region's 6-seed, Tennessee, on Friday at 3:25 p.m. CT in Philadelphia.