#12 UNC travels to SMU for its first conference road game

After a comfortable win against a Florida State team that has struggled so far this year, the North Carolina Tar Heels will get a stiffer test in their second conference game as they visit Andy Enfield and the SMU Mustangs, who are off to an 11-2 start. It will be UNC’s first road game in the ACC and second of the season after their win at Rupp Arena, while the Mustangs are opening their own ACC slate on Saturday.

The story of SMU basketball so far this season has been that of senior guard Boopie Miller. Miller was good last year, averaging 13.2 points and 5.5 assists per game en route to an All-ACC Third Team selection, but he’s been a star this year. He’s averaging 19.9 points, 7.1 assists, and 2.2 steals per game with shooting splits of 47/42/92, ranking at or near the top of the ACC in all those categories. He rarely comes off the floor for the Mustangs and his impact for them might be even bigger than the stats. There are a lot of several-minute stretches where he assists or scores on every field goal his team makes, and he’s lethal both creating offense and playing off the ball — and he draws a lot of fouls, too.

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That said, his backcourt mate B.J. Edwards is having a very good season of his own, averaging 13.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.6 steals per game. He’s not the sniper that Miller has been, shooting just 31% from 3 and 74% from the free-throw line, but he loves getting into the paint and is a strong and creative finisher around the rim. SMU’s third starter on the perimeter is Jaron Pierre, who actually leads his team in field goal attempts. He’s another strong rim finisher and great off-ball mover who’s not fantastically efficient if he’s forced to take shots away from the basket and isn’t very good at giving up the ball when he’s in trouble. He’s good enough at what he does that he doesn’t turn it over a lot either, and he scores 18 points a game. All three guards are pests on defense, presenting challenges for a UNC…

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Publish date : 2026-01-02 14:00:00

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