It's that time of the year again! Oh Happy New Year, but I was meaning the beginning of college basketball conference play. Each Monday, I will (hopefully) put out rankings of where I think the Southland teams rank from top to bottom. The teams with the best/worst records won't always be in the best/worst spots. I throw in non-conference schedule, conference W/L, outlook/potential, and just how they are currently playing. It's only Week 1, and all but 2 teams have a loss. Comments, objections and questions are always welcome.
1. Stephen F. Austin - 8-5 (1-0): Last week this time I had ACU and SFA basically tied for first. The Lumberjacks had a much more difficult schedule, coupled with a pretty bad injury bug. But SFA is at the top of the rankings to start conference play. Coming off a big win at Baylor, a close game with Alabama, and then knocking off Southeastern Louisiana in their only Week 1 game. The return of John Comeaux appears to be a shot in the arm for the 'Jacks. SFA travels to Nicholls State and gets rival Northwestern State at home this week.
2. Abilene Christian - 12-3 (1-1): Hear me out Bearkat fans, it's still early. ACU had a nice run through their non-conference schedule (11-2), although those two loses were to the best two teams they played. I was high on the Wildcats to start the season, and still think they'll be in the Top 4 going into the conference tournament. They got a nice win against New Orleans to open conference play, then forgot what time they played in Huntsville. ACU trailed 41-19 at the half, which was too much to come back from (despite SHSU basically blowing it). Jalone Friday was suspended for that game, no word if he will be out for their matchups at McNeese and at SLU.
3. Sam Houston - 6-8 (1-0): The Bearkats didn't have the best conference record, but they actually didn't play bad. Josh Delaney got them started, dropping 30 points on ACU in a 71-68 win. I think Sam Houston will be up and down (again), but they'll need to be more consistent. They've had 5 different leading scorers in the last 6 games. This week the Bearkats will travel to Conway on Wednesday and then get UIW at home.
4. Lamar - 8-7 (1-1): The rest of the rankings is the hard part. 4-13 have almost identical records, and similar non-conference games. I'm putting Lamar at #4, sitting just above .500 and have good wins against Rice and Texas Southern. Nick Garth is averaging just under 16 PPG and they have a talented roster to complement him. The Cardinals lost a battle to HBU in OT, but bounced back against Corpus Christi A&M. Lamar will get UNO at home, and then travel to Central Arkansas.
5. Southeastern Louisiana - 4-11 (0-2): Several writers picked SLU to win the league, and I had them preseason #2. With Veal returning with some solid role players, the Lions have a tough lineup. But they aren't playing like it right now. Veal has a known knee injury, but it isn't that apparent to the eye. He moved well in the game at SFA that I attended, and then dropped 27 this weekend against UCA (while losing both). But he struggled against the 'Jacks, barely getting to double figures, while committing 10 turnovers. Plenty of time for the Lions to turn things around, but if they don't have someone else step up, the pressure on Veal with the amount of minutes he's logging could be brutal. They get a week off, then get ACU at home.
6. Houston Baptist - 5-8 (1-1): The Huskies might be the biggest surprise of the season thus far. While the record doesn't show it, they probably have the second best non-conference win of the season against Wake Forest, and have played some other close games. Ian DuBose has been a scoring machine as of late (28 PPG in 3 games), and HBU started off strong with the win over Lamar. They too get the week off before traveling to Nicholls.
7. New Orleans - 6-7 (1-1): UNO could easily be higher in these rankings, maybe they should be. I think the Privateers will be a tough win for everyone, as they have been for years. Losing on the road to ACU isn't that uncommon, and the win against HBU was a nice bounce back. Ezekiel Charles is a player to keep an eye on for the season. Huskies will travel to Lamar on Wednesday, before hosting McNeese this weekend.
8. Nicholls State - 8-7 (1-1): A lot up in the air for the Colonels this season. Again losing their coach, and basically their entire team from last year. Grad transfer Jeremiah Jefferson has been coming up big, averaging 16.5 PPG for the season, and can be a big problem in the league this year. Nicholls couldn't muster 60 points in a road loss to UIW, they'll need to play much better to have a chance against SFA and HBU this week.
9. McNeese State - 5-10 (1-1): The Cowboys are another team that has a lot of question marks, yet a lot of upside. They played fairly well in non-conference play, started well dropping 88 at Incarnate Word, then lost an ugly one to Northwestern State. A week with ACU and at UNO should be tough.
10. Central Arkansas - 6-9 (1-1): I had the Bears higher than pretty much everyone this preseason. Even with the loss of Jordan Howard, the returning offense should still put up some numbers. But they're really not...yet. The win however at Southeastern Louisiana has not gone unnoticed. The Bears get Sam Houston and Lamar at home this week.
11. Northwestern State - 6-9 (1-1): It took a long time for the Demons to get their first conference win last year, not so much this season with a nice home win vs McNeese State last week. Ishmael Lane is playing well, but he'll need some help when they travel to Nacogdoches this weekend. The Demons also have a home match up with Corpus Christi A&M this week.
12. Incarnate Word - 6-9 (1-1): Again, it's hard right now ranking some of these teams so early, I don't necessarily think these last few teams are any worse or better than the others. The Cardinals had a pretty rough schedule, making them hard to gauge. The win against Nicholls State last week is definitely a solid win that they will try to build on. They have to travel to Huntsville this weekend.
13. Corpus Christi A&M - 6-9 (1-1): I think the Islanders will be higher in the rankings pretty soon, definitely next week if they can win on the road against Northwestern State. I really like Kareem South, he struggled against Lamar but has the talent to help lead the Islanders up the table.
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