The Mustangs face the University of Tulsa in the first of their last two home games on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.

SMU (8-18, 2-11) is coming off a crushing overtime loss at UTEP on Wednesday, and remain in last place in Conference USA.

After stumbling to a 2-2 start in conference play, the Golden Hurricane (19-9, 9-4) has won seven of nine to climb back in the top three of the standings in C-USA.

The Mustangs have lost six straight to Tulsa since two overtime wins in 2005, with the closest game coming in a 72-71 loss at Moody Coliseum last season. In their previous game this season, SMU rallied late to reduce a 16 point Tulsa lead to five points, but the Golden Hurricane made free throws down the stretch to put the Mustangs away.

Defensively, both teams are powered by their big men in the middle. SMU’s Bamba Fall and Tulsa’s Jerome Jordan are both seven feet tall and lead the league in blocks, with Jordan having totaled 73 this season and Fall coming in at 64, including two game-saving blocks to seal a win over Rice University last Saturday.

SMU will look for leading scorer Paul McCoy to rebound after struggling through a 2-of-13 performance against UTEP. Fall has shown an increased offensive output lately, scoring in double digits in four of the last five games. Tulsa is led by Jordan and junior guard Ben Uzoh as both players average 14.5 points.

The Mustangs next game will be their last home game of the season. They will face Southern Miss University next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.