Four Men's Basketball Teams Have Eight-Plus Wins Entering League Play
Lamar, Northwestern State, Stephen F. Austin and UTSA have won eight or more games heading into the start of conference play on Saturday. The Cardinals have the best overall record and lead the West Division with a 9-4 record, while the Lumberjacks are 8-4 to lead the East Division. Northwestern State is 8-7 and is third in the East while UTSA is 8-4 and is second in the West.
Entering play Tuesday, the Southland Conference owns a 81-72 non-conference record with wins against the Big 12, Conference USA and the Southeastern Conference. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi claimed a road win at Georgia, while Lamar beat Texas Tech and won at Rice. UTSA also claimed wins over Rice and SMU, both on the road.
UTSA Win Streak at Five
UTSA has won five consecutive games after an 80-56 win Monday night vs. Texas Wesleyan. With a win its next time out, UTSA would tie Stephen F. Austin for the longest win streak by a Southland team this season. The Roadrunners have not lost since Dec. 18 at UT-Pan American and have won eight of their last 10 games after opening the season 0-2 with losses at Oklahoma State and Iowa. UTSA has a pair of road wins against Conference USA thanks to wins at Rice Dec. 4 and at SMU Dec. 29. The Roadrunners open Southland Conference play Saturday at home against McNeese State.
Southland TV Makes Hoops Debut
The Southland Conference Television Network makes its basketball debut Saturday when it will televise the Sam Houston State at Stephen F. Austin game at 2 p.m. Doug Anderson, who served as play-by-play announcer of the network during football season, will have that same assignment for each of the 10 men’s basketball games on the network. Joining him Saturday will be veteran color analyst Jim Haller. Ray Tucker, LaDarrin McLane and Lyn Rollins will share duties in the analyst chair for men’s basketball games on the network. The Southland TV Network schedule is on page five of this release.
Each of the 16 games of the network’s basketball package, which also includes six women’s basketball broadcasts, will also be available on SLC NOW, the conference’s streaming audio and video channel at www.southland.org. Additionally, 10 of the network broadcasts will also be available on ESPN FullCourt and ESPN360.com. Please visit the Southland web site for additional information.
Player of the Week Announced
UTSA forward Travis Gabbidon averaged 19.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game to help lead UTSA to a 2-0 record last week and earn Southland Conference player of the week honors. In the Roadrunners’ 80-75 win at SMU Dec. 29 ? the second road victory against a Conference USA team this season ? Gabbidon was 6-for-9 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line in scoring a team-high 18 points and he added seven rebounds. The senior from Phoenix, Ariz., native broke a school record with a 10-for-10 performance from the free throw line en route to a season-high 20 points and contributed four boards and a block in the 76-66 victory over Colgate last Friday. For the week, Gabbidon shot 50 percent (10-of-20) from the floor and 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the charity stripe in helping UTSA extend its winning streak to four games.
Notable Performances Last Week
The Southland Conference had several notable performances last week in addition to the exploits of Travis Gabbidon, the conference’s player of the week.
? McNeese State center Kleon Penn came close to the second triple double in school history when he scored 15 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked seven shots in the Cowboys’ 57-52 loss at Texas A&M on Saturday. It was the second time this season the senior from Tortola, British Virgin Islands blocked seven shots in a game. He also blocked seven against Louisiana-Monroe Nov. 20. Penn leads the conference with 38 blocks and an average of 3.2 blocks per game.
? UT Arlington guard Marquez Haynes earned honorable mention recognition for conference player of the week after he helped the Mavericks win a pair of road games against North Texas and Utah Valley. He ended the week with a career-high 26 points at Utah Valley after making 10-of-17 from the field and recorded four assists. The junior from Irving, Texas, scored 15 points in the first half. He scored 14 points in the 80-75 win at North Texas on Dec. 29.
? Texas A&M-Corpus Christi swingman Kevin Palmer scored 44 points in losses at SMU and Florida State last week. The junior from Baltimore, Md., was 6-for-13 with four three-pointers, including three straight to start the game at SMU. He also made 7-of-8 free throws. At Florida State, Palmer scored a game-high 21 points on 10-of-19 shooting and swipped four steals and grabbed three rebounds and is averging 25 points in his last three games. Palmer has scored 20 or more points in three consecutive games and has reached 20 points five times this season. He scored 31 in the upset of Georgia Dec. 22 and is one of just five Southland players to score 30 or more in a game this season.
? Texas State guard Brent Benson was the other honorable mention designee in player of the week voting on Monday. Benson averaged 28 points, two rebounds and 1.5 steals while playing an average of 23.5 minutes per game off the bench. The senior from Gainesville, Ga., scored 40 points vs. McMurry on 12-of-19 shooting and made 9-of-15 three-pointers and 7-of-8 free throws. He grabbed thee rebounds, dished three assists and had one steal. He poured in 16 points vs. Schreiner in 17 minutes. Benson is the only player to score 40 or more points this season and has scored 30 or more twice.
SFA Ranked in Mid-Major Poll
The Stephen F. Austin men’s basketball team is ranked 21st in this week’s Mid-Major Top 25 poll by CollegeInsider.com. The Lumberjacks are 8-4 on the season and had a six-game win streak snapped with a 67-51 loss at Arkansas Dec. 20. Lamar and UTSA also are receiving votes in this week’s Mid-Major Poll.
Texas State Third in Scoring
Texas State is averaging 91.1 points per game to lead the Southland and rank third nationally in scoring. The Bobcats have topped 100 points three times this season, including Dec. 30 in their 112-70 victory over McMurry. VMI lead the nation with a scoring average of 97.0 points per game while North Carolina is second with 93.6 points per game.
UTSA Fifth in Three-Pointers Per Game
UTSA is averaging 10.1 three-pointer per game to lead the Southland and rank fifth nationally. Texas State, second in the Southland with 9.2 three-pointers per game ranks 11th in the nation. VMI leads the country, making 13.5 three-pointers per game.
Texas State Fifth in 3-Point Percentage
The Bobcats shoot 42.0 percent from behind the three-point arc to rank fifth in the nation. Cal is the national leader with its 50.5 percent accuracy from 3-point land.
SFA Sixth Against the Three
Opponents of Stephen F. Austin are connecting only 27.6 percent of the time from long range and that percentage has the Lumberjacks ranked sixth in the nation. St. Louis is the national leader, limiting the opposition to just 22.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Sam Houston State is Sixth
The Bearkats 18.8 assists per game is ranked sixth nationally. The national leader is North Carolina, which is averaging 20.2 assists per game.
UTSA Sixth in Steals
UTSA averages 10.4 steals per game to rank sixth in the nation. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is ranked 10th with its 10.1 steals per game. VMI leads the country averaging14.5 thefts per game.
SLC Against 2008 NCAA Tourney Teams
The Southland beat four teams that advanced to the 2008 NCAA Tournament.Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s win at Georgia Dec. 22 was the fourth win of the season for the Southland conference against teams that played in last year’s NCAA tournament. Texas State beat Cal State Fullerton, 76-66, to open its season in Honolulu. Stephen F. Austin has two wins over NCAA tournament teams from a season ago. On Dec. 13, the Lumberjacks beat Drake, 66-64 and then Dec. 19, they upended Austin Peay, 93-54. The Islanders needed a half-court shot from Kevin Palmer to pull over the overtime upset against the Bulldogs, which advanced to the NCAA tournament after winning the Southeastern Conference tournament last March. The Southland was 4-14 this season against teams in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Southland is 81-72 in Non-Conference
The Southland Conference is 81-72 in non-conference action so far this season. Thirty-nine of the wins have come against non-Division I opponents, though the league has posted wins against the Big 12, SEC, Conference USA as well as the Big West, Great West, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Southwestern Athletic and Sun Belt conferences in addition to wins against the Colonial Athletic Association, Horizon League and Summit League.
No Place Like Home
Southland Conference teams have had incredible success on their home floors during the non-conference portion of the schedules. The league is 55-8 at home and six of the 12 teams have yet to lose at home. Lamar is 6-0 while four teams boast 5-0 records, including Nicholls State, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin and UTSA. UT Arlington has won all three of its home games. The Mavericks conclude a 10-game road trip Saturday at Texas State and will return home Wednesday vs. Lamar. The conference is just 16-57 on the road. Only two teams have yet to win a road game, including Central Arkansas and Texas State. On a neutral floor the Southland has a 10-7 record.
Southland in Overtime
The Southland is 3-1 in overtime this season. Northwestern State, Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each have won overtime games this season. The Islanders downed Georgia 80-79 in overtime in Athens, while the Demons needed overtime to get past Centenary. Stephen F. Austin played three overtime periods to beat North Dakota State 112-111 on Dec. 12. The long overtime blemish was by Southeastern Louisiana at Arkansas. The Lions fell 91-87 in their season opener.
Southland Television Network
Sixteen men’s and women’s basketball games will be televised this year on the new Southland Conference Television Network, the conference office announced in October. The network will televise 10 men’s games, six women’s games and five games from the Southland Tournament, including the women’s championship game. The men’s championship will be televised on ESPN2.
The Southland Network slate gets underway Saturday with a men’s game between Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin. Each Saturday will feature a game of the week through the final weekend of conference play. The two men’s semifinal games and the two women’s semifinal games at the SLC Tournament also will be televised.
All 12 men’s teams will have at least one regular-season appearance on the network, while Sam Houston State and UTSA each make two appearances. Women’s teams from Lamar, Northwestern State, UTSA and Texas State also have regular-season games on the network.