UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas -- SMU has faced its share of adversity this basketball season, but it hasn't kept the Mustangs from climbing back into the Top 25 and into first place in the American Athletic Conference.
The Mustangs (20-5, 11-2) will face another form of adversity on Saturday night: the glare of the spotlight. SMU hosts defending national champion Connecticut (14-9, 7-4) in a matchup that attracted the ESPN College GameDay crew to Moody Coliseum for the first time.
Until recently, most of the attention focused on SMU had been negative.
It started last summer when star recruit Emmanuel Mudiay, a potential NBA lottery pick, opted to play professionally in China.
Then came the news that top big man Markus Kennedy would miss the first semester with academic issues. As soon as Kennedy returned, the Mustangs lost starting shooting guard Keith Frazier to academic issues. Frazier was averaging 10.5 points a game.
Around the same time, Justin Martin, a transfer from Xavier, quit the team to focus on a potential pro career overseas.
And most ominously, assistant coach Ulric Maligi, once described as coach Larry Brown's chief recruiter, took an indefinite leave of absence just before SMU acknowledged it had received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA.
The turmoil hasn't affected SMU's performance. The Mustangs have won 18 of their last 20 games and returned to the Top 25 last week at No. 23.
The Mustangs have learned to win even when everything isn't going their way, on or off the court.
"I'm hopeful we're growing up and maturing," Brown said. "The one thing I found out is, we won a couple of games where some guys didn't play at a high level and some other people were able to step up. That's always a good sign."
SMU dropped to No. 25 this week following a second loss to Cincinnati, but rebounded with a win at Tulsa, which had been undefeated in conference play.
"Adversity brings everybody closer together and I think that's one of the main things that's helped us get on this little win streak that we've had," guard Ryan Manuel said before last week's Cincinnati game, which snapped an eight-game winning streak.
SMU was ranked No. 22 in the preseason but soon fell out of the Top 25 after road losses to Gonzaga and Indiana. The Mustangs have since gone 7-1 o the road.
"I think it's just a testament to our team and how close we are," Manuel said. "All the guys, we've gotten a good chemistry going and a good flow. I think that's one of the things that's helped us out. Also, we've just been practicing hard and trying to things Coach Brown asks us each and every day."
Connecticut lost both of its conference games against SMU while on the way to winning the national title last season.won the national title last season.
Connecticut has struggled this season, but could be getting hot. The Huskies handed Tulsa its second conference loss, 70-45, Thursday night, a win that propelled SMU into first place following its 75-69 win at Houston.
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire
