In the months following SMU’s one-point loss to USC in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Mustangs’ head coach Tim Jankovich could not get himself to watch the game film. The wound was too just too raw.
Going into the tournament, his team was pegged as a dark horse, a squad that could go far in the tournament despite its seed. But the Mustangs could not get out of the first round. USC’s Elijah Stewart hit a three with 36 seconds that would give the Trojans a lead. SMU had blown a nine-point lead.
In the final seconds, the Mustangs had a chance to win the game.