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Angola falls despite Yanick Moreira’s best offensive performance of FIBA Basketball World Cup

SMU v Memphis

MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 8: Yanick Moreira #35 of the SMU Mustangs shoots against Austin Nichols #4 of the Memphis Tigers on March 8, 2014 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis defeated SMU 67-58. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)

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While some have jumped off the SMU bandwagon thanks to Emmanuel Mudiay’s decision to turn pro and play in China this year, the fact of the matter is that Larry Brown has a team capable of winning its first conference title since 1972. With guard Nic Moore and forward Markus Kennedy leading the way, the Mustangs will likely still be the favorite to win the American Athletic Conference this upcoming season.

With that being the case senior center Yanick Moreira’s time with the Angolan national team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup could prove incredibly valuable should he use it as a springboard into 2014-15. And given the way Moreira’s played in Spain, Kennedy will have a more than capable front court sidekick.

Angola fell short of victory Wednesday, losing 93-87 to undefeated Slovenia, but Moreira put forth his best offensive performance of the event with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field. Moreira also grabbed five rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end of the floor. For the tournament Moreira, who averaged six points and just under four rebounds per game in 23 appearances last season, is averaging 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds with one contest left to play.

That final game will provide Moreira and his teammates with quite the test, as Australia has multiple big men capable of making life difficult. If Angola can win that game and get some help in the form of Korea beating Mexico, they’d advance out of the group stages and into the Round of 16. But regardless of what happens Thursday, this has been a successful tournament for a player who missed a month of action in 2013-14 due to a knee injury.

And if Moreira can carry this production over into the 2014-15 season, SMU will reap the rewards as they look to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament.

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