Given SMU's resiliency over the last few games, coach Tim Jankovich might run out of ways to praise his men's basketball team before it runs out of resolve.

Jankovich said the No. 17 Mustangs had the "heart of lions" following last weekend's 10-point road win against Houston. The win was another way for the Mustangs to display the mettle that's helped the leaders in the American Athletic Conference on their 10-game winning streak.

In each of the last three games, SMU found itself trailing by a sizable margin before rallying. If the Mustangs need a fourth straight comeback win at UConn (14-13, 9-6 AAC) at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jankovich will be the last one to mind.

"It's not intramurals," Jankovich said. "It's high-level college basketball. It's a 40-minute game. They all have a different personality.

"As long as we're figuring out how to get it done in the end, I'm good about it."

Before the last three games, SMU (24-4, 14-1) treated its opponents as if they were hapless fraternity squads. The Mustangs never trailed by more than five points in the seven games leading up to a showdown against Cincinnati on Feb. 12.

At home inside Moody Coliseum, SMU overcame a nine-point deficit to defeat the then-No. 11 Bearcats. A couple of days later, the Mustangs shook off a slow start and eliminated Tulane's 15-point lead en route to victory.

Then last Saturday against Houston, SMU trailed by 13 points in the first half before it eventually pulled away from the Cougars in a 76-66 win.

Resiliency noted.

"They're ranked 19th, but they're probably better than that, which tells you how good we are, too," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson told reporters after the game. "Let's not act like this wasn't a game that could have went either way for a long time."

SMU's resolve has been on full display for the last two seasons and under two coaches.

In 2015, the Larry Brown-led Mustangs went 25-5 despite knowing the NCAA tournament was out of the question because of a postseason ban. While the ban stemming from rules violations is gone, SMU still has to deal with scholarship limitations through the 2018-19 season.

But that hasn't stopped the Mustangs from winning 20 of their last 21 games.

"I think it speaks to what I've been saying all year," Jankovich said. "This is a fighting group. This group doesn't go down easy."

SMU is hoping to bounce back from probation as successfully as Saturday's opponent once did. UConn was given a one-year postseason ban in 2012-13 for poor grades. One year later, after Kevin Ollie succeeded legendary Jim Calhoun as coach, the Huskies won the national championship in Arlington as a No. 7 seed.

Thanks to their recent play, including the key victory over Cincinnati, the Mustangs are moving closer to securing a tournament bid and earning a favorable seed to make a long run in Jankovich's first season after replacing Brown.

With three games left until the AAC tournament in Hartford, Conn., Jankovich isn't worried about his team's recent need for dramatic wins. That might change if the trend continues, he said.

But for now, the outcome is all that counts.

"I don't care how we get it done," Jankovich said. "If we have to come back or hold on to a lead or hit a half-court shot, I don't care. This is winning time."