They’re back. The No. 22 SMU Mustangs open the 2014-15 season on Friday when they host Lamar at Moody Coliseum.

It will be the first time SMU takes the court since last season’s NIT Championship game. SMU was 27-10 last year in what was just the second under Head Coach Larry Brown.

The Mustangs are picked to finish second in The American Athletic Conference by the league’s coaches, while No. 17 Connecticut is picked to win the conference. Again, that is how the league’s coaches see it playing out, but media outlets including Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Athlon Sports and ESPN predict SMU will win the AAC.

SMU juniors Nic Moore and Markus Kennedy were unanimous preseason all-conference selections. However, right now, Kennedy’s eligibility is in question. There are numerous reports online that say he ins ineligible, but Brown has denied those reports and says there has not been an official ruling yet. It is more than likely that Kennedy will not to play in the opener.

This year SMU holds a 58-40 record in season openers and 63-35 in home openers. Brown coached NCAA teams are 4-0 when they open the season at home.

Last season, the Mustangs set a program record by winning 18 home games- including a 12-1 record in Moody Coliseum.

SMU and Lamar have squared off three times and the Mustangs have beaten them every time. This will be their fourth meeting and their third at Moody. The last time these two teams faced each other, SMU won easily 102-70 on Nov. 21, 2010.

Given the depth and talent of this year’s version of SMU, Friday’s matchup shouldn’t be any different than the rest of the series.

It should be a nice warm-up game for SMU and Brown should have plenty of opportunities to play around with different lineups.

Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. and if you couldn’t get your hands on a ticket, you can watch the action on ESPN3.