UNIVERSITY PARK -- New year, same conference-opener results.

The SMU men's basketball team entered Wednesday's American Athletic Conference matchup against South Florida riding a five-year win streak regarding AAC openers. A solid shooting effort couple with a nice defensive performance upped that streak to six.

And with authority.

SMU dominated its conference opener and left Moody Coliseum with an 82-64 New Year's Day win over USF. For the majority of the game, the Mustangs arguably played their best basketball of the year.

Offensively, the Mustangs shot the lights out, finishing 58% from the field but consistently hovering above the 60% mark. Defensively, SMU held USF (7-7, 0-1) to 39% shooting, but the Bulls shot only 34% in the first half. SMU outrebounded USF, 36-30, and scored 40 points in the paint compared to USF's 30.

At one point early in the game, both teams were tied, 9-9. A Tyson Jolly 3-pointer gave the Mustangs a 12-9 lead with 15:27 left in the first half. SMU never trailed again.

The Mustangs held a 42-26 advantage at the half and led by as many as 18 in the first half. SMU extended its lead to 28 in the second half.

In short, it was a convincing win for the Mustangs -- just in time for the start of conference play. Four SMU players finished with double figures in scoring.

Isiaha Mike scored a game-high 24 points and was a point short of his career high. Tyson Jolly added 14 points and six rebounds in the win. Emmanuel Bandoumel scored 12 points off the bench for SMU. Kendric Davis flirted with a double-double, finishing with 12 points and nine assists.

Laquincy Rideau had 14 points to lead USF. Xavier Castaneda also had double figures for the Bulls with 10 points.

SMU now will prepare for a nonconference matchup on the road against Vanderbilt. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee.