Memphis Tigers (12-2) vs SMU Mustangs (10-4)
2024-01-07 17:00:00 EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Memphis Tigers -4.5 -- Over/Under: 146.5
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The SMU Mustangs and the Memphis Tigers meet Sunday in college basketball action from FedExForum. SMU is currently 10-4 overall and riding a four-game win streak. The Mustangs beat Charlotte in their latest matchup. As for Memphis, they’ve won seven straight at 12-2, most recently beating Tulsa. Let’s get into our SMU vs. Memphis prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
SMU Mustangs
The Mustangs posted a 6-4 run over their first 10 games this year. The wins in that time came versus Southwestern Assemblies of God, Western Illinois, Lamar, West Virginia, LA-Monroe and Texas A&M-Commerce. Since then it’s been wins over Florida State, Houston Christian, Murray State and Charlotte.
In the Charlotte game on Tuesday, the Mustangs were up 32-24 in the locker room. SMU didn’t let up from there, hitting a 34-30 run the rest of the way toward a 66-54 win. Leading the team in scoring was Zhuric Phelps with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Memphis Tigers
Over on the Memphis side, they won five straight games to kick off the year, then took consecutive losses to Villanova and Ole Miss. It’s been a win streak over VCU, Texas A&M, Clemson, Virginia, Vanderbilt, Austin Peay and Tulsa in the seven games since then.
Matched up against Tulsa back on Thursday, the Tigers had a close call in a road game. Memphis was up 49-35 going into the second half, but had to hang on for an eventual 78-75 win. Tops in scoring were David Jones and Nae’Qwan Tomlin, each with 17 points and a combined 15 rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE SMU VS MEMPHIS PREDICTION
I’ll stay with Memphis here. The Tigers had their ups and downs in the win over Tulsa on Thursday, shooting 50 percent from the field and 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the line but also coughing up 21 turnovers. Memphis has scored 77 or more points in eight straight games, a 7-1 run (with an 80-77 loss to Ole Miss).
As for SMU, they should post a pretty strong effort here as well if they play to their capabilities. The Mustangs have been below 69 points in four of their last nine outings though, so they’re probably going to have to step on the gas offensively with a lot of outside attempts. Should be a fun one regardless, but I like Memphis a little better on the cover.
