Mike Walker is one of the freshmen who has seen his starts increase early in the season. (Stuart Palley)

The SMU men’s basketball team will put its two-game winning streak on the line against rival TCU (4-2) in the State Farm DFW Duel at Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs (2-4) are concentrating on improving every game so they will be ready for conference play.

Tonight’s game against TCU will give the home crowd insight into just how far they have come. The game will take place at 7 p.m. and marks the 183rd meeting between the two teams.

SMU has won the past two meetings against the Horned Frogs. Both games were close, and last year’s game required a buzzer beater to give the Mustangs a two point win.

The past two SMU wins have been characterized by strong rebounding and better free-throw shooting. SMU has out rebounded its past two opponents and shot over 80 percent from the charity stripe in the second half of its last game against UT-San Antonio.

Head coach Matt Doherty has also utilized the same starting lineup in those games, which includes three freshmen. Mike Walker, Papa Dia and Ryan Harp have started alongside senior guards Derrick Roberts and Jon Killen.

For the freshmen, it will be the first rivalry game of their careers. Killen and Roberts say they can tell them all about the rivalry, but there is only so much preparation for the emotion on the court.

Last time out the Mustangs topped UTSA by a score of 62-56. Freshman guard Mike Walker was SMU’s top scorer with 13 points.

A side story to the game will be how Doherty coaches against former colleague Neil Dougherty. Both head coaches were assistants under Roy Williams at Kansas from 1994-99.

Their time under Williams, now head coach of No. 1 North Carolina, shaped both coaches earlier in their careers. Doherty believes they hold similar philosophies on the game in general.

This is the Mustangs’ last home game before school lets out for the winter break. In 2005, the DFW Duel was one of SMU’s best-attended games of the season.