UNIVERSITY PARK -- You play the opponent on your schedule. Whether it's the No. 1 team in the country or the worst team in college basketball, you play the opponent.

SMU was expected to beat Northwestern State Tuesday night. In many angles, the Mustangs were supposed to dominate.

SMU did everything it was supposed to do and left Moody Coliseum with a 77-51 win. The Mustangs remained undefeated and coasted to an 8-0 record, their best start since the 2015-16 season.

It was a win that featured a sluggish first-half showing offensively by the Mustangs. Fortunately, the defensive play -- something that's become a bread and butter of sorts for SMU -- was the story of the game. SMU held Northwestern State (2-5) to 31% percent shooting for the first half and 34% for the game.

With that, SMU has now held seven out of eight opponents to under 40% shooting. The defense was necessary Tuesday, as SMU sputtered out of the game and only had one bucket in the first four minutes of the contest.

Northwestern State was within five (18-13) with less than 6:30 to play in the first half, but SMU went on a 17-4 run to close out the half. SMU led, 35-17, at the halftime break and took a 20-point lead early in the second half.

From there, SMU cruised and led by as many as 30. An Everett Ray bucket gave the Mustangs a 72-42 lead.

Five Mustangs finished with double figures in scoring. Isiaha Mike had 16 points, while CJ White had 15 points off the bench. Ray added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Emmanuel Bandoumel and Feron Hunt each had 10 points in the win.

Chudier Bile, Northwestern State's leading scorer entering the game, had nine points in the loss. He also fouled out early in the second half.

SMU now prepares for its Saturday showdown against Georgetown. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m.