SMU to face UNLV in neutral site matchup in Phoenix

“We got punched in the mouth at the start of the second half and we didn’t recover,” Josh Pastner said after SMU beat his No. 22-ranked Memphis team back in 2014.

Now, the Mustangs and Pastner will face off again with hopes of having a similar quote to end the game. This time, Pastner will lead UNLV in a neutral site matchup on Dec. 19 in Phoenix against Andy Enfield’s team, according to Jon Rothstein.

The contest will be held in the Mortgage Matchup Center as Enfield enters Year 3 at the helm of his program while Pastner enters Year 2. He led the program to the postseason in his first year at the helm, advancing to the second round of the NIT.

Enfield hopes all the work put into the 2026-27 roster leads the Mustangs to greater heights beyond just making the NCAA Tournament.

“We’re almost finished with our roster. It’s been a long month of Zoom calls, visits, negotiations,” Enfield told On The Pony Express. “Certainly the landscape has changed in the last couple years, and this was the most difficult season yet with the amount of transfers. We’re fortunate to have some returning players that our fans know and have watched as young players that come back, and I think our fans will be very excited about some of the veteran transfers that have signed and will be Mustangs next season.”

SMU recorded a pair of ranked wins over [12/12] North Carolina on Jan. 3 (97-83) and [21/21] Louisville on Feb. 17 (95-85). The program at least received votes in the AP or USA Today Coaches Poll in nine weeks and was No. 24 in the AP Top 25 and No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll on Jan. 5. That was the first time the Mustangs were ranked since the final poll of the 2016-17 season.