Spring Break
Can men's hoops pull off the upset of the year?
Mustangs will attempt to hand Tigers their first conference loss of the season
Zack Wehner, Sports Editor, zwehner@smu.edu
Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Sports
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Wednesday night's contest is senior night for forward Paulius Ritter and guards Jon Killen and Derrick Roberts. The three seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony for their many contributions to SMU.
For Ritter, the game against Memphis will mark his 71st contest with the Mustangs. Ritter has one of SMU's highest rebounds-per-minute rates and is graduating in May with a degree in economics with financial application.
Roberts is completing his second season as a Mustangs co-captain and has almost become SMU's 35th member of the 1,000-point club. Roberts is also in the top 25 of various SMU career offensive categories. Like Ritter, Roberts will graduate in May with a degree in economics.
As for Killen, numbers cannot begin to describe his on-the-court achievements this season for the Mustangs. While his 13.1 points per game this season and 116 games played as a Mustang are astounding, his leadership and work ethic have provided younger Mustangs with an example of what it takes to succeed on the court.
Doherty described Killen's leadership best when he commented after a game, "Having Killen on the court is great because it is like having another coach on the floor." Killen was recognized for his excellent leadership and play this season when he won Conference USA Player of the Week on Jan. 28.
As for the game, the Mustangs will face an opponent in the Tigers that absolutely torched them in their first meeting. The Tigers won the game by a final score of 77-48 and held the Mustangs to just 18 first-half points.
The Tigers were able to dominate the game because they stopped the Mustangs' offense and forced turnovers. Memphis forced 13 first-half turnovers and scored 25 points total off 16 total SMU turnovers.
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