The game was being watched anxiously by many bubble teams, with UConn facing a win-or-else situation. With the loss, Connecticut likely won’t get an opportunity to defend its national championship.
SMU’s 11th NCAA Tournament appearance comes as its first since 1993. The Larry Brown-led Mustangs captured its first conference title in 27 years.
Markus Kennedy led No. 20 SMU (27-6) with 15 points and six rebounds. Yanick Moreira added 11 points and five rebounds. The Mustangs had four players in double figures, including unanimous first-team all-conference selection Nic Moore with 11 points.
Connecticut (20-14) is no stranger to long tournament runs. The Huskies went on a magical run last year to win the national championship as a seven seed, three years after winning the tournament as a three seed.
Rodney Purvis was set on being the next Huskies guard to lead his team to the Big Dance. Purvis scored 29 points on 11-of-22 shooting. Senior leader and unanimous all-conference selection Ryan Boatright struggled, with seven points on 1-of-12 shooting.
