Before the season started, the Southern Methodist Mustangs were thought of as one of the favorites in the AAC, as legendary head coach Larry Brown has built this squad that he took over in 2012 to a powerhouse. However, much tumult has built in Dallas over the past year. Emmanuel Mudiay, a massive recruit that would have made a huge difference this year, decided to go to China and play instead of play college ball. Markus Kennedy, arguably the most talented player on the SMU roster, was academically ineligible for the first half of the season. Finally, a scandal has rocked the Mustangs foundation, as the school received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA that includes accusations of academic improprieties within the program.

However, Southern Methodist continues to roll now after getting Kennedy back on the squad, now 8-1 in the American Athletic after downing South Florida tonight in Tampa, 63-52.

Markus Kennedy had a great night for the Pony Express, scoring 22 points on 10-12 shooting by driving to the basket with authority and getting easy layups. Kennedy is starting to awaken into the player that we thought he would be, with his energy leading SMU to greater heights. He, along with center Yanick Moreira, pounded the inexperienced South Florida frontcourt in the paint.

However, it was just the opposite for the SMU backcourt against USF's savvy bunch. Upperclassmen Corey Allen Jr. and Nehemias Morillo copied each other's effort, both scoring 18 points to keep the Bulls in the game, as Southern Methodist's guards went a combined 4-21 on the night. However, South Florida's bench troubles were prevalent, scoring only 8 points total. Troy Holston Jr. in particular had a poor game, going 0-6 shooting. Orlando Antigua still has a lot of work to do with his squad, but they did not have any quit in them tonight, but their lack of efficiency was glaring tonight.

Now 17-4 overall, Southern Methodist looks to be what we thought they would be. They have some key matchups against AAC elite such as Tulsa and Cincinnati coming up soon, so we will be able to check their relevancy soon. For now, the squad will head back to Dallas and prepare for a battle against a young but peppy Central Florida team on Saturday. USF, now a hopeless 1-7 in league play, will try to gain some more experience when they head to Tulsa to play the conference-leading Golden Hurricane on the same day.