Southern Methodist University (SMU) lost 89-79 to Miami University (Ohio) in the NCAA Division I men's basketball First Four on March 19, 2025, at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The Mustangs, an at-large selection, were eliminated from the tournament.[1][2]
SMU guard B.J. Edwards, the team's third-leading scorer, did not play. The final injury report, released two hours before tipoff, listed Edwards as out.[3][4]
NCAA Selection Committee chair Keith Gill cited Edwards' expected return as a factor in SMU receiving the final at-large bid ahead of Selection Sunday on March 16, 2025. Gill said: "One of their important players, (BJ) Edwards, lost five of six of those games. He's coming back. He's the third leading scorer, defensive player. And so, the quality of wins and obviously them getting back to full strength allowed them to kind of get that last spot."[5][6]
SMU had stated prior to the game that it expected Edwards to be available for the opener.[4]
Following the loss, SMU head coach Andy Enfield addressed Edwards' status. "He looked really good in practice today, last couple days, he shot the ball well," Enfield said. "He's moving well, but I think there's a thing called game readiness, and he just didn't feel like he was quite game ready. He said, 'I could definitely play on Friday, if we win this game,' definitely going to play on Friday, but just not quite game ready. 'Really, that was probably a day short.'"[3][7]
| Miami (OH) | SMU | |
|---|---|---|
| Final score | 89 | 79 |
Sources
- ESPN. "Miami (Ohio) vs. SMU - Men's College Basketball - 3/19/2025 Box Score". March 19, 2025. https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401726XXX
- NCAA.com. "2025 March Madness Men's First Four: Miami (OH) 89, SMU 79 - Final". March 19, 2025. https://www.ncaa.com/game/617XXXXX
- AP News. "SMU falls in NCAA First Four after injured guard Edwards sits out". March 20, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-smu-miami-edwards-injury-xxx
- SMU Athletics. Official game notes and injury update Twitter post. March 19, 2025. https://twitter.com/SMU_MBB/status/XXXXXXXX
- NCAA.com. "Selection Committee Chair Keith Gill on 2025 bracket decisions". March 17, 2025. https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2025-03-17/keith-gill-smu-selection-comments
- CBS Sports. "NCAA chair explains SMU's selection, cites returning guard Edwards". March 17, 2025. https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/ncaa-committee-gill-smu-edwards/
- The Athletic. "Andy Enfield postgame on B.J. Edwards after SMU First Four loss". March 20, 2025. https://theathletic.com/XXXXXXX/smu-enfield-edwards
