Houston @ Southern Methodist preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 15, 2020 ) Southern Methodist 62, Houston 71

Having won three straight and eight of its last nine games, 19th-ranked Houston sits atop a hotly contested American Athletic Conference and will look to extend the lead Saturday when it visits SMU - a team it has beaten five straight times, including a nine-point victory in January. The Cougars hope to make it six in a row, but SMU is 13-1 overall and unbeaten in league play at Moody Coliseum.

Houston features a balanced offensive attack with five players scoring at least nine points per game with none averaging more than 13, though they are just fifth in the AAC while shooting 43.5 percent from the floor. "We're not a good shooting team. We haven't been all year. I guess we're kind of used to it," Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson told reporters following Wednesday's win at South Florida. But the Cougars have proven to be one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, leading the way with a plus-10 margin and sitting sixth with just under 14 offensive boards a game. SMU is formidable on the boards itself, boasting a plus-6.3 rebounding margin while outrebounding 17 of its 23 opponents. But what makes the Mustangs tick is their offense, which leads the league in scoring (76.0), field goal percentage (46.2) and 3-point percentage (35.4).

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT HOUSTON (20-5, 10-2 AAC): Sophomore guard Quentin Grimes has been heating up during the winning streak, averaging 17 points on just a tick under 53 percent field goal shooting, while dishing out five assists in all three contests. Though not a consistent scorer, Nate Hinton averages double figures on the season (10.4) while shooting a team-best 38.5 percent from beyond the arc and is fourth in the conference in rebounding (9.2). Guard Caleb Mills has been one of the impact freshmen in the conference but is coming off one of his worst games of the season, making just one shot in seven attempts from the floor against South Florida.

ABOUT SMU (17-6, 7-4): Sophomore point guard Kendric Davis has bounced back in the three games following a zero-point performance against Cincinnati, averaging 20 points in that span, and ranks first in the AAC along with fifth in the nation with 7.3 assists per game. Forward Feron Hunt is coming off his best game of the season, dropping in a career-high 23 points against Connecticut while making 8-of-9 from the field to contribute to his 57.9 percent shooting mark overall - second-best in the conference. Guard CJ White has seen a drastic increase in playing time over the last four games, eclipsing double figures while making 11-of-14 from 3-point range in the first three before taking just one shot in a scoreless performance against UConn.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Houston is 6-1 as a ranked team this season.

2. SMU’s 76.8 free-throw percentage is best in the AAC.

3. The Mustangs are 10-0 when holding opponents at or below 40 percent from the field.

PREDICTION: Houston 82, SMU 77