When SMU plays host to No. 21 Houston on Wednesday, the Mustangs will be a healthy team on the rise.

When they opened the season already short-handed due to scholarship limitations related to past indiscretions, the last thing they could afford was a collection of injuries to complicate matters.

But that's what they got, with senior guard Jarrey Foster and sophomore forward Everett Ray unavailable from the opening tip. Mix in the usual bumps and bruises that accompany preseason workouts, and SMU occasionally struggled to field enough healthy bodies to hold routine practices.