After a down season a year ago, the ACC found its men's basketball strength again this year. And SMU has been right in the middle of it.

There are five ACC teams currently ranked in the Top 25, and the Mustangs have played four of them and are traveling to the fifth, No. 20 Louisville, on Saturday. They are also one of the top teams themselves, receiving votes in both polls.

"The league is certainly better this year," SMU head coach Andy Enfield said. "More quality teams from top to bottom, meaning on a national scale, some of these teams, including SMU, won big out-of-conference games in November and early December. So it's made our metrics and our NET rankings much higher this season. So every game we play now is a pretty important game for us on the regional and league scale, but also nationally. So we welcome the competition. I think our team is better this year than it was last year, but the league has definitely improved, and every game we play is now a very, very hard game for us."

Along with the ACC games, the Mustangs also played a four-game stretch against SEC teams, including a win against conference leader Texas A&M in overtime. SMU has gone to overtime twice and has five games played within four points, four in conference play.

That includes an 83-80 win against Florida State the last time out.

"I think the experience and the recent close games—you could see a poise over our players in the last five, six minutes of the game, especially in the last two minutes, to make the right play, right decisions, made some shots and then get crucial stops," Enfield said. "And that's what it takes to win. You have to sometimes be fortunate, but you have to put yourself in that position, and (Saturday), they did a great job in it."

The Mustangs led by as many as 14 in the first half and took a 12-point lead into halftime. Florida State took the lead five minutes into the second half, forcing SMU to play catch up and then hold on.

That's where the leadership and experience of seniors Boopie Miller, Jaron Pierre Jr. and B.J. Edwards came into play.

"Just our leadership, with me, Boopie and Jaron," Edwards said. "... We work hard every day and trust our work. We didn't want to panic, and this is a really good win. Florida State's a great team. They just beat Miami, so we didn't want to take them lightly, but this will definitely help us in the long run and in March, getting this gritty win."

SMU beat Butler early in the season with a Pierre basket in the final five seconds. Miller hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to beat Virginia Tech, and Pierre and Edwards combined for the final 23 points for the Mustangs in the win against FSU.

Miller also had game-winning shots in the final seconds last season against Virginia and Cal Baptist. 

"The advantage of having experienced players, especially three guards—they've been there many games—and our team has been very good in close games this year," Enfield said. "… Every game is close in this league. We understand that."

And with another quality opponent coming up, the Mustangs are prepared for another battle at the KFC Yum! Center.

"Louisville has quality players. They're very deep," Enfield said. "They have good size. Their big guys shoot. Their guards are dynamic and they're experienced. Of course, (Mikel) Brown (Jr.), who's a freshman, is very explosive offensively, so we'll have to prepare for that. … It should be a heck of a game Saturday at Louisville. We have an outstanding backcourt, and so do they. It should be fun."