SMU beats No. 21 Louisville 95-85 for another home win over a ranked ACC opponent

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SMU guard Jaron Pierre Jr. (5) shoots over Louisville's Sananda Fru in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Dallas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

SMU guard Jaron Pierre Jr. (5) celebrates after dunking as Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. (0) and Ryan Conwell (3) look on in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Dallas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) — SMU guard Jaron Pierre Jr. (5) shoots over Louisville's Sananda Fru in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Dallas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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8:42 PM on Tuesday, February 17

By STEPHEN HAWKINS

DALLAS (AP) — Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 25 points and Boopie Miller had 23 points with nine assists as SMU beat No. 21 Louisville 95-85 on Tuesday night, ending the Cardinals' five-game winning streak.

SMU (18-8, 7-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) went ahead to stay on Miller's short floater in the lane with 6:19 left that broke a 76-all tie. That was the second of six consecutive made field goals by the Mustangs, including a pair of 3-pointers by Corey Washington, who finished with 18 points.

Miller's alley-oop pass to Pierre for a dunk with 1:49 remaining pushed the lead to 91-83 and sent the already-loud Moody Coliseum crowd into a real frenzy.

It was the Mustangs' second win at home over a ranked ACC opponent this season, and could be significant in their push to reach their first NCAA Tournament since 2017. They beat then-No. 12 North Carolina 97-83 on Jan. 3, which was their first victory over a Top 25 opponent under second-year coach Andy Enfield.

Standout freshman Mikel Brown Jr. had 29 points for Louisville (19-6, 8-5), whose winning streak started with an 88-74 home win over SMU on Jan. 31. J'Vonne Hadley had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Ryan Conwell scored 12.

Brown has 29 points in back-to-back games since matching a Louisville single-game record and ACC freshman record with 45 points against North Carolina State on Feb. 9.

In a game with 17 lead changes and 16 ties between the ACC's two highest-scoring teams, Louisville went up 74-73 on Brown’s driving reverse layup through defenders with eight minutes left. Less than a minute later, Brown took the ball away from Miller when SMU's senior guard went up in the air while driving toward the basket.

The Mustangs led 52-49 at halftime.

Up next

Louisville is home against Georgia Tech on Saturday.

SMU hosts Boston College on Saturday.

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