An SMU team happy to return to the court will enter Dickies Arena in Fort Worth with big goals, despite not playing a game in more than a month.
When asked about his team's chances for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, SMU forward Feron Hunt made his response quizzical yet whimsical, answering the question with a question of his own.
"If I said you run four suicides, you get a million dollars, or you run 3 1/2 [suicides], I may get it to you ... which one are you going to do?" Hunt asked.
Simply put, if SMU wins three AAC Tournament games in three days, they advance to the NCAA Tournament as the AAC representative. And with that, there won't need to be any what-if questioning with a team that's on the bubble -- on the outside looking in -- in several tournament bracket predictions, but also hasn't played an actual game in more than a month.
COVID-19 has been SMU's toughest competitor since February. The Mustangs last played on Feb. 8 -- beating East Carolina on the road -- because of the coronavirus. Since then, the Mustangs have had six straight games postponed and two more canceled.
SMU was 11-4 after its East Carolina victory. It finished the season with an 11-4 record.
Friday will almost feel like opening holiday gifts for an SMU team that's beyond eager to return to the floor. Ranked the No. 4 seed in the AAC Tournament, SMU will face No. 5 seed Cincinnati in a quarterfinal at 2 p.m. Friday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
"We're anxious to be back out there. We haven't played in so long," SMU guard Kendric Davis said. "Now that it's game week, you can see a sense of urgency."
COVID-19 forced a couple of program pauses, but head coach Tim Jankovich was able to get five-on-five practices going again a few days ago. The team has been competing in 20-minute scrimmages to rebuild its endurance, refocus on its overall strategy, and regain its rhythm.
Friday afternoon will be a welcomed moment for the Mustangs -- a day that can't seem to come fast enough.
"The effort, the attention to detail, everything. We've been locked in," Davis said. "We're grateful to be playing again. It's like when you get something taken away from you, you realize you love it.
"We're just ready to play and have fun again."
It helps that SMU is playing Cincinnati in the first tournament game. The Bearcats rallied late in the second half to beat SMU, 76-69, at Moody Coliseum on Jan. 7. It's a loss that still leaves a sour taste in the mouths of the Mustangs, who were outscored, 15-4, in the final four minutes of the game.
Jankovich called the Cincinnati loss "the most disappointing game of the year," primarily because of the lack of productivity down the stretch.
"Some of our shot selection and our mentality in the last six, seven minutes ...," Jankovich said. "They [Cincinnati] played their tail off. I just mean the way we played the finish was, for me, the worst I've felt all year."
Friday starts a new season for SMU, and while they aren't expected to be at full strength, numbers wise, look for the Mustangs to be ready to remind teams of how dangerous they once were considered.
The mission for an NCAA Tournament berth, Hunt said, is crystal clear.
"If we win three, we automatically get there," he said.
AAC TOURNAMENT
QUARTERFINAL ROUND
No. 4 SMU (11-4) vs. No. 5 Cincinnati (10-10)
2 p.m. Friday
Dickies Arena, Fort Worth
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