Lamar Slated to Win Southland in Preseason Polls
FRISCO, Texas – The Lamar Cardinals have been selected as the preseason favorites to win the Southland Conference by a vote of the league’s coaches and sports information directors for the second consecutive season, the conference office announced Wednesday.
The Cardinals are projected to claim the regular-season title by the coaches and the SIDs. The coaches allocated 130 points for Lamar with five first-place votes with the SIDs tallying 125 points and five first-place votes.
The Cardinals have claimed two regular-season titles in Southland Conference history with the most recent coming in 2014 after posting a 13-5 league mark.
Northwestern State was picked to finish is second place by the coaches gathering five first-place votes with a total of 126 points. The SIDs gave the Lady Demons three first-place votes and 110 total point projecting Northwestern State to finish in third place.
Stephen F. Austin is ranked third in the coaches’ poll, just one point behind the Lady Demons with 125 total points. The Ladyjacks received two first-place votes from the coaches. The SIDs ranked the Ladyjacks in second place with three first-place votes. Stephen F. Austin leads all schools with 17 regular-season championships and looks to make its 25th postseason appearance in school history.
The coaches and the SIDs polled McNeese State to finish the season in fourth place. The coaches gave the Cowgirls 123 points and two first-place votes while the SIDs game McNeese 108 points and one first-place vote.
Both polls placed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fifth and Houston Baptist sixth. The Islanders gathered 100 total points from the coaches and 105 from the SIDs. The coaches gave the Huskies 92 points while the SIDs gave them 87 points and one first-place vote.
The coaches ranked Central Arkansas seventh (88 points) and Nicholls eighth (80 points), while the SIDs have the two in a tie for seventh place with 73 points each.
The two polls ranked nine through 13 the same with Abilene Christian ninth, Sam Houston State 10th, New Orleans 11th, Southeastern Louisiana 12th and UIW13th.
After transitioning to Division I, Abilene Christian and UIW were eligible for preseason polls for the first time, but are not eligible for postseason play until the 2017-18 season.
The top eight teams with the highest winning percentage during conference action will earn berths to the 2015 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament March 10-13, at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
2015-16 Women’s Basketball Preseason Polls
| Coaches’ Poll |
|
|
| Place |
Team (first place votes) |
Total |
| 1. |
Lamar (5) |
130 |
| 2. |
Northwestern State (5) |
126 |
| 3. |
Stephen F. Austin (2) |
125 |
| 4. |
McNeese State (2) |
123 |
| 5. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
100 |
| 6. |
Houston Baptist |
92 |
| 7. |
Central Arkansas |
88 |
| 8. |
Nicholls |
80 |
| 9. |
Abilene Christian |
74 |
| 10. |
Sam Houston State |
61 |
| 11. |
New Orleans |
47 |
| 12. |
Southeastern Louisiana |
28 |
| 13. |
UIW |
18 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| SID Poll |
|
|
| Place |
Team (first place votes) |
Total |
| 1. |
Lamar (5) |
125 |
| 2. |
Stephen F. Austin (3) |
117 |
| 3. |
Northwestern State (3) |
110 |
| 4. |
McNeese State (1) |
108 |
| 5. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
105 |
| 6. |
Houston Baptist (1) |
87 |
| T7. |
Central Arkansas |
73 |
| T7. |
Nicholls |
73 |
| 9. |
Abilene Christian |
69 |
| 10. |
Sam Houston State |
53 |
| 11. |
New Orleans |
41 |
| 12. |
Southeastern Louisiana |
35 |
| 13. |
UIW |
18 |