Week 4 is in the books, and it was definitely dramatic. The Bearkats are the obvious #1 seed after ACU dropped their second game. Corpus continue to climb, Shannon Bogues did his thing again, and the season continues to intensify. It's starting to go by very fast, and every week is becoming more crucial.
1. Sam Houston State - 12-8 (7-0): Unanimous. For the first time ever Sam Houston State sits atop my rankings. The Bearkats took care of Northwestern State on the road, and then handled Lamar at home to give themselves a 2 game lead in the standings. But, their stretch over the next 5 games will extremely difficult. Which includes @SLU, @ACU, @Corpus...oh and a home game this weekend against SFA.
2. Abilene Christian - 17-4 (6-2): The Wildcats are just barely holding on to the 2 seed right now. But they're also a few seconds from still being the 1 seed. The loss to SFA could be looked at in several ways. They were up 7 points with 26 seconds and lost. But they also needed 19 points from Hayden Farquhar (15 above his average) to even be up in that game against a very shorthanded SFA squad. ACU only has one game this week, and it's a big one at home versus the Islanders.
3. Texas A&M Corpus Christi - 9-10 (4-2): The new big surprise of the season. The Islanders can no longer be overlooked at 4-2. They've been a little lucky schedule wise (only playing 6 games vs 8), so it could easily flip on it's head for them. Kareem South continues to be one of the most underrated players in the Southland. Big tests ahead this week, with two road games at ACU and HBU.
4. Stephen F. Austin - 10-8 (3-3): The Lumberjacks definitely have the flair for drama, in more ways than one. As already mentioned, this week it was an insane comeback against ACU that helps them vault back into the Top 4. Similarly to Corpus, SFA has only played 6 conference games. Is that good or bad right now? I think good, as they have 5 games remaining in the season against the 3 teams ranked above them here. This week they get UCA at home, before traveling to Huntsville. After their ACU win, 3 words remained on the whiteboard after the game. "Not Dead Yet."
5. Central Arkansas - 10-11 (5-3): This week spots 4 through 7 were pretty tough. I think they could all be interchanged pretty easily with a good argument. I'm not "fully" bought in on the Bears yet, as their 3 losses were to the best three teams that they've played thus far. The rest of the season should be a struggle to get into the Top 4. This week UCA has to travel to Nacogdoches, and then have Northwestern State at home.
6. New Orleans - 10-9 (5-3): The Privateers followed their Week 3 loss immediately with a Week 4 loss Central Arkansas, dropping them to #6 in the rankings. I think the Top 4 is still a very possibility for Coach Slessingers crew. They should be 7-3 in next weeks rankings after playing Northwestern State and Incarnate Word at home.
7. Southeastern Louisiana - 8-12 (4-3): The Lions are finally starting to play like the team we thought they were. Marlain Veal and Moses Greenwood have led the team to 4 straight wins, just when they really needed them. However, those 4 wins were against the bottom 4 teams in the league. They've got a great chance to prove themselves when Sam Houston comes to town this weekend. As well as rival Nicholls State.
8. Nicholls State - 10-10 (3-4): The Colonels have dropped their last 3 (and 4 of their last 6), so sliding down the standings is not a good sign right now as we approach the halfway point of conference play. They really need to beat Lamar to stay in the Top 8, and a win at SLU would be a great boost.
9. McNeese State - 7-13 (3-4): McNeese got a decent win last week over Houston Baptist in their lone conference game, and they've got just the one this week as well. A home game versus Lamar gives them a good shot at a win, before they enter a tough stretch that includes road trips to Huntsville, Nacogdoches and Hammond.
10. Northwestern State - 7-13 (2-5): It's been rough lately for the Demons, and their early win against SFA is really the only thing saving their conference season. They've lost their last 3 (and 4 of their last 5), and have only broken the 70 point mark once in Southland play. They'll have to figure something out quick if they want to make it to Katy. Trips to New Orleans and Central Arkansas are up this week.
11. Lamar - 9-11 (2-5): The Cardinals too continue to struggle, which I think it a little concerning for the amount of talent on the roster that we all heard about. Not unexpectedly, Lamar had a tough trip to Huntsville. They have two road trips on the schedule this week as well unfortunately, but decent chances to beat both Nicholls State and McNeese.
12. Houston Baptist - 5-13 (1-6): I honestly thought HBU would be better than this right now. But the numbers don't lie, and the numbers say they've lost 6 straight. The positives are that their largest defeat was only by 7 points, and there's still enough time to battle their way into the Top 8. But it has to start this week with a trip to UIW, and a home match up with Corpus.
13. Incarnate Word - 6-14 (1-6): To match HBU at the bottom, the Cardinals are the only other team with just one conference win. The difference however is that half of those losses have been by double digits. Which isn't promising for a young team. UIW gets the home game against HBU and then a visit to New Orleans. A trip to Katy may not be "in the cards" this year, but they've got time to build the season into a positive.
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