We're back. After a week off (our bad on that), your Southland Conference Power Rankings have returned.
Since our last time out, plenty has changed. With that in mind and before we unveil where everyone stands today, let's have a look at what our ranks
would have looked like last week:
1. New Orleans
2. Sam Houston State
3. Stephen F. Austin
4. Lamar
5. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
6. Houston Baptist
7. Central Arkansas
8. Abilene Christian
9. Southeastern Louisiana
10. Nicholls
11. Incarnate Word
12. Northwestern State
13. McNeese
New Orleans finally regained their spot on top of the mountain while Sam was beginning to come back to earth. Perhaps the biggest story, though, was/is the resurgence of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders who have been quietly tearing up the league.
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1. New Orleans
2016-17 record: 16-9 (11-3) | Last week's rank: 1
With the biggest game of the season on the horizon, the Privateers are in control of their own destiny. If they beat SFA on Thursday, they will be cruising to the Southland title. A loss gives them very little breathing room. Regardless of how Thursday's game plays out, there are three things I see as guarantees for the Privateers. #1 - Mark Slessinger is the Coach of the Year. If anyone else wins, it I’m starting the #NotMyCoachOfTheYear movement. #2 - Erik Thomas is Player of the Year, ending the SFA streak of the last four seasons. #3 - New Orleans will get one of the double byes in the conference tournament. If you disagree with any of these predictions, you're wrong.
2. Stephen F. Austin
2016-17 record: 15-11 (10-4) | Last week's rank: 3
As mentioned above, the campaign for a fifth-straight conference championship can be decided on Thursday. A win and the Lumberjacks control their destiny if they win out. A loss and they're playing for the #2 seed. The Jacks are hot, but a road game is still their kryptonite. Someone has got to step up for them this week or the #DriveForFive dies in New Orleans.
3. Texas A&M-CC
2016-17 record: 16-9 (9-5) | Last week's rank: 5
Remember like almost a month ago when I said the Islanders had the easiest remaining schedule and could win out? Yeah, me too. As usual I was right. Somehow, the Islanders are in a great spot to earn the #2 seed after a disastrous beginning to the season. Don't sleep on Wednesday's game at ACU though. The Wildcats have beaten Sam Houston State, UNO, Lamar, and SFA in Abilene this year.
4. Houston Baptist
2016-17 record: 13-12 (8-6) | Last week's rank: 6
Don’t look now, but the Huskies are sitting pretty for that #4 seed in the conference tournament and might be the hottest team in the league outside of Corpus Christi right now. I say all this, and inevitably they will lose to McNeese this week. They have very quietly won five-straight games including a massive upset at home versus Sam Houston (maybe less of an upset than it felt like in hindsight.) I still don't think that they have a legitimate shot at winning that conference NCAA bid, but this season anything is possible.
5. Sam Houston State
2016-17 record: 18-10 (9-6) | Last week's rank: 2
I have two words for the Bearkats: Bye, Jason. Injuries have been a factor but it just seems like Hooten has lost his team, in similar fashion to Mark Gottfried at NC State. When a team quits on their coach, there is only one fix. Sam Houston State doesn't like to fire coaches, and they probably won't, but for a team that basically had the conference championship handed to them, the Bearkats sure did find a way to fumble those dreams.
6. Abilene Christian
2016-17 record: 12-13 (6-8) | Last week's rank: 8
A couple of cupcake wins last week over Northwestern State and McNeese have ACU on a two-game winning streak (shamefully tied for the fifth longest in the conference). This week will be a true test of just how far the Wildcats have come this season. With a win over the Islanders this week, the Cats could boast a very impressive 4-0 record at home versus the top teams in the conference (UNO, SFA, Corpus, Sam). While they still aren't allowed in the tournament, at least fans can lay claim to the best home court outside of Nacogdoches.
7. Lamar
2016-17 record: 15-12 (7-7) | Last week's rank: 4
It’s hard to blame the Cardinals for their recent three-game slide as they have played the three streaking powerhouses (HBU, SFA, Corpus). That being said, the hope of a double bye or even a single bye is almost certainly dead. Looking at the remaining schedule, I’d expect Lamar to fall back into their 1-1 pattern and finish the season out at 9-9 or so. Good enough for the #7 seed in Katy, probably.
8. Central Arkansas
2016-17 record: 7-8 (8-20) | Last week's rank: 7
Alright, the bandwagon is alive and my Dark House is back from the dead . Just gotta win out, have SFA lose out, have the Islanders lose three times, the Bearkats lose three times, have Lamar lose twice and Houston Baptist lose twice - and we have that double bye I was so confident that this team could earn. The dream isn’t dead. #ZombieDarkHorse
9. Southeastern Louisiana
2016-17 record: 14-14 (7-8) | Last week's rank: 9
Ever look back through old Facebook photos and think, "damn, why did I do that?" Well, that's me looking back to when I had SELA at #1 in my rankings. Was I drunk for an entire week? The fact that (even for a short time) the Lions were the best team in the conference shows what a messed up year it has been in the SLC.
10. Incarnate Word
2016-17 record: 11-15 (6-9) | Last week's rank: 11
Spolier Alert. The Cardinals helped continue to Sam Houston freefall this week with a beatdown of the Bearkats at home. While UIW's season might be a lost cause, they can say they beat the Bearkats and Lumberjacks, something that may not happen again for a very long time.
11. Northwestern State
2016-17 record: 10-15 (4-10) | Last week's rank: 12
With both UNO and SFA remaining on the schedule, the Demons have a chance to so something they haven't done all year: make some chaos in the conference standings. Their 4-10 record is far less impressive than McNeese, who at least beat SFA early in the season. The Demons' best win so far appears to be against SELA. It’s a shame Jalan West and Zeek Woodley had to go out this way.
12. Nicholls
2016-17 record: 12-15 (5-9) | Last week's rank: 10
Not sure that the Colonels actually have many fans, and if they do, I would venture to bet none of them are reading this. In fact, does anyone really read after the top five? The Colonels will go 1-3, finish in 10th place, and nobody will ever hear from them again. The end.
13. McNeese
2016-17 record: 7-18 (4-10) | Last week's rank: 13
Losers of four-straight, there is no hope for the Cowboys in their remaining schedule. The best that they can hope for at this point is to play spoiler and ruin a bye week bid for any of their final four opponents (HBU, Corpus, Sam, Lamar).
