At a critical point in their season, the SMU Mustangs went on the road for two games against conference powers.
They were 4-3 in conference play going into the road trip. The Mustangs had the chance to separate themselves from the middle of the AAC pack with road wins, or slide further down with losses. They fought hard but lost both, falling 85-83 to Wichita State on Wednesday before losing 73-68 to Cincinnati Saturday night.
Last year, the thought of back-to-back games in Wichita and Cincinnati would have been among the most daunting in the country.