Bamba Fall (right) has stepped his game up since entering the starting lineup last week. (James Bilowus)

The Mustangs have yet to win a Conference USA game on the road this season. Their fourth attempt will come tonight, as SMU travels to Birmingham to play the UAB Blazers.

UAB (11-9, 3-3) is coming off a 58-42 victory over East Carolina. The Mustangs will open a five-game homestand for the Blazers who have played four of six conference games on the road.

The Blazers hold a 2-1 series advantage against the Mustangs, but the Mustangs’ lone victory came in 1983. Both UAB victories came last season, the second one in the C-USA Tournament.

The Mustangs might still be without Derrick Roberts, who has missed the last two games due to an injured knee. But Brian Epps and Donatas Rackauskas stepped up, scoring 14 points each in Saturday’s four-point loss to Tulsa.

Ike Ofoegbu continues to anchor the SMU offense. Ofoegbu leads the team with 13 points per game and was the leading scorer against Tulsa with 19 points.

Turnovers continue to plague the Mustangs.

SMU had 19 turnovers against Tulsa and averaged 17.6 turnovers a game. When head coach Matt Doherty took over at SMU, one of his goals was to have more assists than turnovers. Right now the Mustangs average 4.3 fewer assists a game than their opponents.

Doherty’s other goal for the team is much closer to a reality. He wants the Mustangs to make more free throws than their opponents attempt. SMU has currently made 298 free throws while opponents have attempted 317.

The Mustangs will look to get back on track tonight at 7 in Birmingham, Ala. against the UAB Blazers.