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SMU hopes to learn from scare vs. UCF (Mar 11, 2017)
It all depends on how one chooses to look at things.
Either No. 12 SMU almost executed an epic collapse Friday at the American Athletic Conference tournament in blowing a 24-point lead before eliminating East Carolina 81-77, or it actually needed to feel the heat of a pressure situation it hasn't had often.
As one might expect, Mustangs coach Tim Jankovich, whose team will play Central Florida in Saturday's first semifinal at XL Center in Hartford, Conn., is opting for the latter scenario.
"We haven't been in very many of these situations at all," Jankovich said. "We needed some of the feelings we had today. We needed to know that next time this happens, how we're going to sort it out better. You want to learn from a performance like that."
What top-seeded SMU (28-4) might have discovered is that it might want to revert back to the 40-minute intensity it's shown over the last 25 games. It's 24-1 since a 4-3 start, losing only on Jan. 12 at Cincinnati, and has won 14 consecutive contests.
Making Friday's close call even more unexpected was that the Mustangs looked like their normal selves for most of the first half. They rolled to a 43-19 lead late in the half, using excellent ball movement to create good looks offensively and sound rotations to force tough shots from East Carolina.
SMU was on the verge of a third blowout against the Pirates -- it beat them by 40 and 31 point in two earlier matchups -- before the unexpected turnaround.
"Our first half was pretty normal, other than the first five minutes," Jankovich said. "Second half ... I think we let down psychologically just for a few minutes, which allows confidence to build. It felt like they made 100,000 (3-pointers) down the stretch in this game."
East Carolina actually made just 10 3-pointers in the second half, but seven occurred in a span of less than 7 1/2 minutes to fuel the improbable rally.
Three-pointers were also a key for fourth-seeded Central Florida as it bounced Memphis 84-54 in Friday's second quarterfinals. The Knights converted 14 of 26 from distance, using the 3 to establish a 43-26 halftime lead and never really letting up.
Matt Williams sank five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points while B.J. Taylor added 14 points and five assists for UCF (21-10). The Knights trailed 10-4 early, but buried the Tigers with a 33-7 spurt and then started the second half with an 11-1 run for a 54-27 advantage.
"I thought we played one of our best games of the year to be quite frank," said first-year Central Florida coach Johnny Dawkins. "From start to finish, I thought we defended. We've hung our hat there all year long, and I thought our guys really focused throughout most of the game and had a great defensive effort."
The teams played just once this year, with the Mustangs edging the Knights 65-60 on Jan. 25 in Orlando, Fla., behind 19 points from Shake Milton. SMU played its starters that night all but 11 of a possible 200 minutes.
