UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas -- SMU opens the college basketball season with tempered expectations because of who won't be there. Star recruit Emmanuel Mudiay opted to play professionally in China and top big man Markus Kennedy could sit out with an academic issue.
But there's still plenty of reasons for excitement.
The Mustangs return 11 players, including standout point guard Nic Moore, from a team that went 27-10 and advanced to the championship of the NIT.
Along the way, SMU beat eventual national champion Connecticut twice and sold out a newly-renovated Moody Colisem nine times.
SMU sold out of season tickets for this season, which begins Friday against Lamar. The Mustangs will carry a No. 22 national ranking in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls.
Although SMU accomplised much last season, it may best be remembered for what the Mustangs didn't do: make the NCAA Tournament. SMU was one of the last teams left out of the NCAA field, which would seem to be a natural motivation for the current season.
"Of course, we've still got a little bitter taste in our mouths about it, but it's not a motivation," guard Keith Frazier said. "I feel like we're going to come back harder this year and keep striding for what we want, which is to be in the NCAA Tournament and win the championship."
Earlier this week, a report citing an anonymous source said Kennedy would be academically ineligible for the first semester. However, Brown said nothing has been determined.
"He's doing what he was asked to do, the best he can," Brown said. "We're just hopeful but I don't know, to be honest with you."
Without Kennedy, SMU still has a deep frontcourt. Center Yanick Moreira was impressive playing for Angola in the FIBA World Cup last summer, while returning big men Cannen Cunningham and Ben Moore showed flashes of talent last season.
Moore and Kennedy were unanimous preseason all-condference selections in the American Athletic Conference. Frazier, Ryan Manuel and Sterling Brown add experience to the backcourt.
SMU also picked up a couple of talented transfers in forward Justin Martin from Xavier and guard Ben Emelogu from Virginia Tech.
"We could possibly be better offensively," Frazier said. "We've got a couple more offensive pieces added like Ben Emelogu and Justin Martin. I feel like our defense will still be there, because we work on defense every day."
Not only has the roster been beefed up, but so has the schedule. SMU's non-conference schedule was one of the reasons it was left out of the NCAA Tournament last season, but it won't be a weakness this season.
After opening against Lamar, SMU travels to Gonzaga on Monday, then plays at Indiana on Thursday. There's also a trip to Michigan on Dec. 20.
"I wanted us to play the best teams," Brown said. "That wasn't available to us [last season], because I don't think a lot of teams felt that they would gain anything by playing us...We're going to try to keep improving our schedule, but I doubt a lot of teams are going to want to come here."
Brown said SMU is behind where it was this time last year. Mudiay's decision to turn pro came too late for SMU to recruit another player. In addition to Kennedy's uncertain status, Emelogu has been sick and Martin injured.
Brown is also concerned about the loss of leadership from departed veterans Nick Russell and Shawn Williams.
"If everybody steps up and gets better we can be good," Brown said. "Our goal is to get better every day and we'll find the guys that make each of their teammates better. We have depth and we've got good guys. We've got a much tougher schedule and that's a good thing. But I'm just worried about Lamar right now."
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire
