Northwestern St. @ Southern Methodist preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 8, 2018 ) Northwestern St. 58, Southern Methodist 69

With seven straight wins to open the season, SMU has proven that its balanced scoring attack is a tough task for opponents to handle. The Mustangs aim to stay undefeated Tuesday when they take on visiting Northwestern State.

SMU's most notable win to this point was against UNLV and, most recently, the team defeated Abilene Christian 70-51 behind Tyson Jolly's 18 points. Two other Mustangs had double-doubles in that contest - Feron Hunt with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Kendric Davis with 17 points and 10 assists. Isiaha Mike chipped in 12 points for the Mustangs, who have four players averaging between 13-18 points per game and have scored at least 70 points in six of the first seven games. They look to continue their strong start to the season against a Northwestern State team that has lost four of its last five games.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN3

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN STATE (2-4): The Demons played Louisiana-Monroe in their last game and absorbed a 77-69 defeat despite 18 points and nine rebounds from Chudier Bile and 15 points from Jamaure Gregg, who made all seven of his field-goal attempts. Northwestern State shot 4-of-20 from 3-point land in that contest and shoots under 30 percent from long range as a team, including 1-of-13 from Bile on the young season. Bile leads the team in scoring (11.2) and rebounding (9.3), while Brian White (10.2 points) is shooting 55.8 percent from the floor despite standing only 5-6, 160 pounds.

ABOUT SMU (7-0): Davis (18.0 points) is the top scorer for the Mustangs and also averages 7.3 assists, which would rank in the top 10 nationally if he had played more than three games. Jolly chips in 16.1 points and shoots 57.4 percent from the field - in fact, all four of the leading scorers for SMU shoot at least 55 percent from the floor. Mike contributes 15.6 points with a team-leading 16 3-pointers and Hunt adds 13.7 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. SMU has outrebounded six of its seven opponents so far.

2. This is the second game of a four-game road trip for Northwestern State, which visits LSU on Sunday.

3. The Mustangs are 36-3 in regular-season non-conference home games under coach Tim Jankovich.

PREDICTION: SMU 84, Northwestern State 60