SMU has hands full with surging North Carolina State

After three losses to ranked teams in as many weeks, SMU gets a chance against an unranked team when it squares off with North Carolina State in an Atlantic Coast Conference dustup on Tuesday in Dallas.

The Mustangs (15-6, 4-4 ACC) head home after an 88-74 loss on Saturday at No. 20 Louisville in which SMU got 20 points from Boopie Miller. Samet Yigitoglu tallied 14 points and eight rebounds and Corey Washington added 13 points. BJ Edwards notched 13 points, too, but didn't score after halftime.

SMU committed 16 turnovers, with 10 coming after the break.

The Mustangs led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but came apart over the final 10 minutes. SMU surrendered a 10-0 run midway through the second half that turned a 62-61 lead into a nine-point deficit from which it would not recover.

"We just didn't play well in the second half," SMU coach Andy Enfield said. "We had two assists and 10 turnovers -- our guards didn't share the basketball like we did in the first half. Very disappointing. We shot a low percentage as a result of that, just too many turnovers."

Three of the Mustangs' four conference losses have been to teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 -- and four of their six losses overall.

While the Wolfpack (16-6, 7-2 ACC) are merely receiving votes in the AP Top 25, they have climbed to 23rd in KenPom and 27th in the NET rankings as they ride a four-game winning streak into Dallas.

Their most recent win was Saturday's 96-78 dismantling of Wake Forest on the road. NC State is off to its best start in league play since 2005 and was hitting on all cylinders Saturday while earning a season sweep of the Demon Deacons.

Paul McNeil Jr. led the way for the Wolfpack with 28 points while Darrion Williams racked up 20, Ven-Allen Lubin hit for 12 points and Quadir Copeland distributed 10 assists in 23 minutes.

"You want to continue to get better as the season goes on, and hopefully we can continue to get better," NC State coach Will Wade said. "We're at the halfway mark now. The back stretch is not easy. We've got to continue to improve, continue to get better, and continue to do the things that we need to do to allow us to be successful as a team. I do think we're making progress."

--Field Level Media