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The selection committee seemingly got duped.
SMU earned the final at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament after saying it “expected” star guard B.J. Edwards would be available for the tourney.
Yet Wednesday night, Edwards did not suit up in the 89-79 loss to Miami (Ohio) in the First Four.
That SMU released a statement on Edwards’ status before Selection Sunday only to not have him for a game has raised questions of whether the Mustangs intentionally misled the committee, but coach Andy Enfield indicated there had been no shenanigans.
“We’re probably a day short on that,” Enfield said. “It was heartbreaking when he said, I’m just not quite — we thought he’d be right there. But it’s a very heartbreaking thing to have someone that wants to be out there and just can’t do it. It didn’t feel comfortable quite yet.
“He means so much to our team and just an incredible young man. I know he wanted to be out there more than anybody. That’s kind of where it was. He feels worse than we all do.”
The NCAA Tournament can take injuries into consideration when seeding the field, which is likely the reason why SMU released the statement prior to the tournament.
The Mustangs firmly put themselves on the bubble by losing five of their final six games and four of five without Edwards, who suffered an ankle injury.
The senior averaged 12.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists this season.
Selection committee chair Keith Gill specifically noted the expectation that SMU would have its full roster when explaining why the Mustangs made the field.
“They had wins when these teams were at full strength over North Carolina, Louisville and Texas A&M,” Gill told CBS. “Six games ago, they lost one of their important players (in) Edwards and they’ve lost five of six of those games. He’s coming back, the third-leading scorer, defensive player, so the quality of wins and obviously them getting back to full strength allowed them to get that last spot.”
They did not return to full strength since Edwards wasn’t “game ready” with what Enfield described as a “serious injury.”
Enfield said Edwards moved well during practices leading into the game and even moved well, but he instead targeted Friday in a potential first-round game as his return.
Without Edwards, the Mustangs fell behind by nine points at halftime before rallying to tie the game at 50-50 with 13:37 remaining.
A 13-0 counter by the RedHawks then allowed them to pull away, and they will clash with sixth-seeded Tennessee on Friday in the Midwest Region.
It’s possible this situation could be remembered for future situations, but Enfield defended his team’s inclusion when asked if he worries about potential repercussions.
“B.J. is important, but it’s a team sport. A lot of other teams have injuries,” Enfield said. “We deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament if you look at all our metrics and our wins. We all thought that B.J. would be back, but this was a situation where, as I just described — I just went over that.
“As far as the committee, what they’re — we deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament, bottom line. That’s pretty to the point right there.”
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