Sam Houston State at SMU 11/25/20 - College Basketball Picks & Predictions

The Sam Houston State Bearkats visit Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday to play the SMU Mustangs in the opening game of the college basketball regular-season for both. Sam Houston State was 18-13 overall and 11-9 in the Southland Conference in 2019-20. The Bearkats finished fourth in the conference standings. Last season Sam Houston State lost each of its final three games, but expectations are much higher leading up to Wednesday's opening tip-off.

The Bearcats will be led by Zach Nutall, who was an all-Southland first team selection last season and will battle for conference MVP this season. Nutall averaged 15.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season. Several junior college transfers will join Nutall including Tristan Ikpe, Manny Crump and Dylan Robertson. Demarkus Lampley returns for Sam Houston following his first season with the Bearkats in which he averaged 8.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

Southern Methodist finished last season 19-11 overall and 9-9 in the American Athletic Conference. The Mustangs lost one key player in Isiaha Mike, while three players that averaged double features in scoring return including Tyson Jolly, Kendrick Davis and Feron Hunt. Additions to the SMU lineup include graduate transfer Yor Anei from Oklahoma State, graduate transfer Darius McNeill from Cal and freshman Darius McBride. The Mustangs are expected to be a dark horse for the AAC title.

Returning backcourt tandem Jolly and Davis combined to score an average of 28.7 points per game last season, with Jolly the leading scorer at 14.5 points per game. Jolly also averaged 6.2 rebounds in 2.3 assists per game. Backcourt mate Davis handed out a team-high 6.7 assists per game and committed an average of just 2.5 turnovers each game. McNeil and Anei are big additions for the Mustangs as transfers and make SMU much more dangerous in the frontcourt