Halfway through the ACC season, the SMU men's basketball team has been tested by the league's best — and proven it can compete in a schedule that has offered little margin for error.

Through nine games, the Mustangs have played seven of the conference's Top 8 teams. They've played all five of the teams ranked in the Top 25, three of them on the road. And of the five losses, three have come by four or fewer points.

That includes Tuesday's one-point loss to North Carolina State. It reinforced SMU head coach Andy Enfield's belief that his team can beat — or get beaten by — any team in the league on any night.

"We still have a good record," Enfield said. "We're still in a good position for what we want to do. Unfortunately, we lost two home games at the buzzer, which is frustrating, but we have some very good wins as well."

It is just the second time this season the Mustangs have lost back-to-back games. The first time, they responded and snapped the short skid. Enfield expects his team to do the same as it travels to Pittsburgh for a 1 p.m. CT contest on Saturday.

"We'll prepare for Saturday. Keep our heads up, try to motivate them," Enfield said. "It's a long season. You don't win every game. You lose some heartbreakers, you win some close games. But our guys have half the ACC season left, and they have to compete. I think they will, because we have winners on our team."

Much has been made about the strength of the ACC this season after having a perceived down year last season. It won't take much to convince SMU of that. The Mustangs have been both part of that increased success, entering the Top 25 for the first time since 2017, and witnessed the league's improvements firsthand. 

Saturday's loss to NC State didn't drop the Mustangs in the NET rankings — they maintained their spot at No. 34. They are one of eight teams in the NET Top 40 and have, again, played all seven teams ranked higher.

"This league is very good from top to bottom. It's what the ACC's supposed to be," Enfield said. "Every game we play is a tough team. NC State's NET is in the Top 30. We were 34, they were 26 coming into this game. These games are supposed to come down to the last possession. That's what ACC basketball's all about."

The next three games on the schedule are all against teams below SMU in the conference standings. That doesn't mean the Mustangs will take them lightly. That starts with Saturday's trip to Pittsburgh.

The Mustangs then return home to host a Notre Dame team that took No. 17 Virginia to double overtime and then travel to Syracuse, which has some close losses of its own.

"The loss, we've got to turn it into a lesson," senior guard B.J. Edwards said. "We've got to stay positive, win out the rest of these games. We definitely treat every team the same. Attention to detail, playing as hard as we can. We've got to get all these wins." 

NC State head coach Will Wade called the Mustangs an NCAA tournament team after Tuesday's game, along with his own, saying that both should be in if the season ended today. Florida State head coach Luke Loucks and others have said it as well. SMU has also been in the field of many bracketology projections for much of the season.

But the season is not over, and those are not the official NCAA brackets. The Mustangs don't want to leave anything to chance.

"Yes, a lot of people say we're an NCAA tournament team. They say we're great, we've got three great guards, we have a lot of good role players," guard Jaron Pierre Jr. said. "When people come in, it's definitely going to be a dogfight when you play versus us because we're not going to back down from anyone, but just one step at a time. As long as we go one game at a time, we're going to be perfectly fine to put ourselves in the right position."

That begins Saturday.

The Mustangs will look to start the second half of the ACC season on a high note and build momentum through February and into March.

"We have confidence in our team," Enfield said. "I think Saturday, we'll go and compete and play as hard as we can and hopefully come out with a road win. But half the (ACC) season is a long time, and we have to do our part."