The Mustangs, losers of six of their last eight games, look to hit their stride Saturday when they face the Tulane Green Wave at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.
Since defeating the University of Colorado 70-67 on Jan. 5, the Mustangs (5-9, 0-2 Conference USA) have lost two straight games against conference foes. UTEP beat the Mustangs 74-68 at Moody Coliseum last Saturday, and the Rice Owls-who finished last in the conference last season-clipped the Mustangs 79-67 in Houston on Wednesday.
Despite the discouraging results since Christmas Break began, the Mustangs’ offense has been boosted by the presence of junior forward Mouhammad Faye. The 6-foot-9 transfer from Georgia Tech, who became eligible in the middle of December, has started five games and averages 11 points and four rebounds. Faye led the Mustangs with 19 points in the loss to UTEP. He keyed a 15-2 run that brought the Mustangs to within three points with two minutes to play.
Teammate Bamba Fall turned in one of the great December performances for the team, amassing 13 points and 11 rebounds against Colorado. The Mustangs, who have outrebounded opponents 35-34 per game this season, smashed the Buffaloes on the boards 38-27.
Freshman point guard Paul McCoy leads the Mustangs with 14 points per game, and junior Paul McCoy averages 12.
SMU is shooting 45 percent from the field and 34 percent from beyond the 3-point arc this season. However, the team has struggled from the free throw line, managing only a 63 percent average.
In the loss to Rice, the Mustangs struggled from behind the 3-point line, connecting on only 3 of 24 attempts. The Owls, on the other hand, hit 8 of 18 3-pointers.
The Green Wave (7-9, 1-2) has lost three of four, with its only conference win coming against Rice. Junior guard Kevin Sims is the only Tulane player to average double-digit points this season (11.3).
The Green Wave average 64.2 points a game, and the Mustangs average 66.
The Mustangs travel to face the University of Marshall (8-8, 1-1) on Wednesday, then they return to Moody Coliseum to play East Carolina (9-6, 1-1) University next Saturday.
