Four SMU Players Named All-AAC
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (SMU/AAC) – The American Athletic Conference regular season champion SMU Mustangs had four players named to the all-conference teams. Semi Ojeleye was named to the All-American Athletic Conference First Team, while Ben Moore, Sterling Brown and Shake Milton earned second team accolades.
The four helped No.12/15 SMU to a 27-4 regular-season record including a 17-1 AAC mark. The Mustangs have won 13 straight wins and 23 in its last 24 games. SMU has held 22 of their last 24 opponents to 66 points or less. For the season, SMU ranks third in the nation in scoring defense (59.4) and field goal defense (38.5), second in rebound margin (+9.8), sixth in scoring margin (15.2) and seventh in assist turnover ratio (1.5).
Ojeleye ranks near the top of the American Athletic Conference in points (18.5, 3rd AAC), rebounds (6.5, 16th AAC), field goal percentage (48.4, 9th AAC) and 3-point percentage (43.1, 2nd AAC). The junior has scored 10 or more points in 30 of 31 games, including the last 23, and has 20 or more points in 11 contests this season. He has also been named CoSIDA Academic All-America second team and USBWA All-District VII. At the conference level, Ojeleye has been The American Player of the Week twice along with earning AAC Weekly Honor Roll six times.
Moore is averaging 11.8 points (22nd AAC), 8.2 rebounds (4th AAC), 2.5 assists and 1.1 blocks, while shooting 57.5 percent from the field (2nd AAC). In conference play, Moore averaged 12.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Moore, a Bolingbrook, Illinois, native started all 31 games, recording double-digit points in 23-of-31 games and five or more rebounds in 27-of-31 games. He recorded eight double-doubles (T-4th AAC) this season.
Brown has averaged 12.8 points (18th AAC), 6.8 rebounds (13th AAC), 3.1 assists, and 1.5 steals (7th AAC). He is shooting 42.5 percent from behind the three-point arc (4th AAC) and 79.1 percent from the free-throw line (7th AAC). In conference play, he averaged 14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals. The Maywood, Illinois, native scored in double figures 24 times in the regular season, including eight games with 15 or more points. He has six double-doubles (T-9th AAC) this season.
Milton earned his second consecutive American Athletic Conference yearly award (2016 All-Rookie team) after averaging 13.3 points (12th AAC), 4.5 assists (T-5th AAC), 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals. He shot 42.9 percent from the three-point arc (3rd AAC) and 78.2 percent from the free-throw line (9th AAC). In conference play, the Owasso, Oklahoma, native averaged 14.3 points, 4.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals. In 31 starts, Milton posted 25 double-digit scoring performances, with his first career double-double (15 points, 10 assists) against Tulsa (March 2).
This is the second time in program history SMU has had four players earn all-conference honors in the same season. The first was in 1956-57 (Jim Krebs, Bobby Mills, Rick Herrscher and Larry Showalter).
