SMU guard Derek Williams goes up for a shot against Memphis. The Mustangs will be facing California State Bakersfield Saturday at 2 p.m. (Casey Lee)

After Wednesday’s emotionally charged game against the University of Memphis, the Mustangs have a brief break in conference play as they tip of at 2 p.m. at Moody Coliseum on Saturday against Cal State Bakersfield. SMU (6-14, 1-7) is looking to break a mid-season slump in which it has lost seven of its last eight games. The Roadrunners (6-15) are not affiliated with any conference and will come to the Hilltop in game two of a three game road trip.

A brief non-conference matchup could be coming at the right time for the Mustangs. A hard fought, highly anticipated game like the one they played against Memphis can have a lasting effect, and playing CSUB might allow the Mustangs to refocus and regroup.

SMU is coming off of what could be their best game of the year on Wednesday, despite the loss. At the midway point of conference play, the Mustangs seemed to find some of their identity against the vaunted Tigers.

“At halftime one of the players said, ‘This is us. This is how we should be playing,'” said head coach Matt Doherty. “From that perspective I thought it was a great experience, in terms of our guys realizing that they can play with the best. We just have to figure out how to do it for 40 minutes.”

Saturday might prove itself to be a good test for the Mustangs, not necessarily in terms of beating the Roadrunners, but in putting forth a complete game instead of short spurts of great play.

SMU should look to get Bamba Fall back into the offense, as Memphis was able to take away much of the inside game against the Mustangs. The Roadrunners will have much more difficulty winning the battle in the paint, as few players pass the 6-6 mark and they are not a great rebounding team.

CSUB is led by Trent Blakley, who scores 13.7 points-per-game.

SMU returns to conference action on Wednesday when they play the University of Houston at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.