​Last night the SMU Mustangs quietly tip-toed into the semifinals of something called the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) with a seven-point win at Northern Iowa. It's not exactly March Madness - more like March Mediocrity - but considering the Mustangs and head coach Matt Doherty haven't had a lot of success they'll take it.

There's the NCAA, the NIT, the CBI and then the CIT. While almost no one was noticing, the Mustangs have defeated Oral Roberts, Jacksonville and UNI, thanks to 21 rebounds from senior Pap Dia, on their way to Friday's semifinals against a to-be-determined opponent and site.

And today, even better news. SMU's players - and you - can touch and feel and even sign the actual court that will be used for the Final Four April 2-4 at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

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​Never again let me criticize college football for rewarding 70 teams with bowl games. Because college basketball is now doing the same thing. And then some.

This year - this week - March has increased, unprecedented Madness.

Ohio State, Duke, Pittsburgh and Kansas are the No. 1 seeds as the NCAA men's basketball tournament tips off this week. That tournament features 68 teams (11 from the Big East and five from the Big 12 including Texas as No. 4 in the West), will be televised on four networks (CBS, TNT, TBS and, what the what?!, TruTV) and features not only a Final Four April 2 in Houston but also a First Four, with games played Tuesday and Wednesday before Thursday's wall-to-wall hoops.

But wait, order now and there's more!

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SMU

​Sure, it's not the death penalty, but the NCAA just released a statement saying it has accepted self-imposed sanctions by Southern Methodist University on its basketball program. SMU's recommendations included two years probation (March 10, 2011, through March 9, 2013), a reduction of 15 recruiting days and a two-week ban on initiating communication with prospective basketball student-athletes that began on April 28 and concluded on May 11, 2010.

The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions determined that SMU "committed major violations" related to "impermissible text messages" sent by members of the men's basketball staff to parents of at least seven prospective student-athletes.

The entire release is after the jump.

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My favorite part of the informative, entertaining "Pony Excess" ESPN documentary over the weekend was being reminded of the classic scene that unfolded at Texas A&M's Kyle Field on October 31, 1981.

Led by Eric Dickerson and Craig James, the 5th-ranked Mustangs trounced a mediocre Aggies team, 27-7. SMU finished the season 10-1 (its only loss to Texas, 9-7) while A&M went 7-5. In football, it was a mismatch.

And - much more comically - it was one-sided amongst team supporters.

After an SMU touchdown, the Mustangs' cheerleaders ran onto Kyle Field's supposedly hallowed turf. A couple of them laid down to spell out "S-M-U," much to the chagrin of a certain Aggie cadet.

Greg Hood was the "OD" - or Officer of the Day - and since he couldn't do a damn thing about his football team getting plastered he wasn't going to stand for his traditions also being trampled.

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No one from the 1980s pay-for-play scandals remains at SMU, but the stigma - and the residue from the NCAA's Death Penalty - remain on the Hilltop.

Those wounds may not be re-opened, but they'll certainly be re-visited Saturday night when ESPN presents its latest 30 for 30 documentary: "Pony Excess."

Athletic director Steve Orsini says the Mustangs long ago healed from that era. Maybe. But with a one-hour, 42-minute, stirring look back and interviews with everyone from Dale Hansen to Verne Lundquist to former assistant coach Steve Endicott we'll at least be reminded where the scars are.

Patrick Duffy narrates. And, no, it's not just a coincidence that the documentary airs immediately after the Heisman Trophy will awarded to a player embroiled in controversy - Cam Newton.

​I saw the Harlem Globetrotters not long ago but I'll admit, I had no idea they had a "draft."

You?

The world's most famous basketball team yesterday drafted the "Club Trillion" founder, a college slam dunk champion, a husband-wife couple and - lookie here - a dude from SMU.

That's right, SMU point guard Derek Williams is now a Harlem Globetrotter.

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​If this Spring is any indication of where things are headed, SMU basketball's March Madness drought is likely to hit 18 years next season.

That's because star point guard Paul McCoy - once thought of as the Mustangs' light at the end of the tunnel - is transferring from SMU. In his place, head coach Matt Doherty has recruited somebody named Jeremiah Sammarrippas.

Prepare to be underwhelmed.

As I've said before, Doherty's tenure on the Hilltop has been disappointing. SMU was 14-18 last year and is 47-75 under Doherty, including a woeful 17-48 in Conference USA.

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​Last Sept. 12, SMU cornerback Derrius Bell suffered a concussion in a game at Alabama-Birmingham. Sidelined for three weeks, he returned against TCU and, on the game's first play, violently hit a Frog receiver after a reception.

The tackle forced a fumble, and gave Bell another concussion.

The end.

Bell, considered the Mustangs' best defensive back as spring practice opens, didn't play again last season. And now, after seeing a neurologist last week, he likely won't play football again.

We're getting better at taking care of ourselves. Seat belts. Vitamins. No more NFL players running around the field sans helmets.

But are we also getting wussier? There was a time when football players suffered concussions, and merely wobbled off the field while their teammates giggled that they got their bell rung.

Now, that bell tolls.

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​Make it 17 years and counting that SMU won't be invited to March Madness.

With head coach Matt Doherty's rebuilding program on a pace that's as slow as refrigerated honey - or is it simply a treadmill? - is it time for a change?

SMU's latest losing season was buried last night in a disappointing 16-point loss to a Central Florida team that it whipped by 22 in Dallas in January. With the loss in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament, the Mustangs finished 14-18. After years with 10 and 9 wins I guess you could call it progress, but in Doherty's four years the Ponies are a lethargic 47-75, including 17-48 in the conference.

There was a four-game winning streak in January and a signature win over Memphis, but despite Doherty's arrival the Mustangs are no closer to being on college basketball's map. SMU hasn't had a winning season since 2003 and hasn't beaten a Top 5 team since the days of Jon Koncak in 1985. Moody Coliseum is an empty dump. Doherty recruits Africa better than Dallas. And the $13 million Crum Center practice facility is so far a wasted investment.

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http://smu.rivals.com/

Now everyone - including Jason Garrett's nephew, Jake Flaherty - wants a piece of SMU football.

​For his role, Dale Hansen got death threats, extortion ploys and, um, a dead bird.

"It was a black crow delivered right to our office," recalls Hansen, WFAA-Channel 8's sports anchor upon the events surrounding his uncovering the SMU football scandal of 1986. "It had a note pinned through its body: 'You're next.'"

For its part, SMU football received even worse. A two-year death sentence from which it took 23 years - until last Saturday's victory over Tulane - to recover.

"It was a significant historical event and a dark day for SMU and the city of Dallas," Mustangs athletic director Steve Orsini told me a year or so ago. "But there's no residue. It doesn't affect us today."

Not anymore.

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