Next three games are on the road. New Orleans, Nicholls and Lamar.
SFA / Incarnate Word
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Last: 1 hr ago by SFAXE93
Defense gets the trophy tonight.
Stephen F. Austin just held Incarnate Word without a three-pointer. It's the third time this season a team has failed to make a three against a Division I opponent.
— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) January 13, 2026
Per CBB Reference, it's the 10th time SFA has held a team without a three since 2007 - tied with Princeton for the…
Couple things as we just crossed the halfway mark of the season.
Christmas is having the best season of his career. He's shooting significantly better, up on rebounds, overall more effective. Of course it's the best team he's been on, but he looks like he's really enjoying it. Happy for him.
Braeuer's inaugural season can't claim best season ever, but has an outside chance to be in the top 5 SFA seasons ever. Only 7 seasons have finished higher than an .800 win percentage. Currently on track to be the eighth, but there's a lot of conference yet to play.
Definitely the healthiest a Jacks team has been in a long while. Colonel did have a limp after the game as it looks like he had an ankle sprain with about a minute to go. But, depth has kept minutes reasonable for everyone. In a good position for the back half.
Unlike in recent years where we said we recruited shooters, this team is effective up and down the lineup in scoring. Of course the starters have the gaudy stats, but our b-line that plays after four minutes (Mohammed, Narit, Alisas, Scurry, and Smith Jr.) are getting it done. They have been holding their own.
Things are looking up inside the Sawmill. Crowds are getting more invested. It will be fun to see if the Jacks can blow this thing wide open this year.
Christmas is having the best season of his career. He's shooting significantly better, up on rebounds, overall more effective. Of course it's the best team he's been on, but he looks like he's really enjoying it. Happy for him.
Braeuer's inaugural season can't claim best season ever, but has an outside chance to be in the top 5 SFA seasons ever. Only 7 seasons have finished higher than an .800 win percentage. Currently on track to be the eighth, but there's a lot of conference yet to play.
Definitely the healthiest a Jacks team has been in a long while. Colonel did have a limp after the game as it looks like he had an ankle sprain with about a minute to go. But, depth has kept minutes reasonable for everyone. In a good position for the back half.
Unlike in recent years where we said we recruited shooters, this team is effective up and down the lineup in scoring. Of course the starters have the gaudy stats, but our b-line that plays after four minutes (Mohammed, Narit, Alisas, Scurry, and Smith Jr.) are getting it done. They have been holding their own.
Things are looking up inside the Sawmill. Crowds are getting more invested. It will be fun to see if the Jacks can blow this thing wide open this year.
It's almost like we expect to win. lol. Even coach is getting a little swagger.
nacluth said:
Couple things as we just crossed the halfway mark of the season.
Christmas is having the best season of his career. He's shooting significantly better, up on rebounds, overall more effective. Of course it's the best team he's been on, but he looks like he's really enjoying it. Happy for him.
Braeuer's inaugural season can't claim best season ever, but has an outside chance to be in the top 5 SFA seasons ever. Only 7 seasons have finished higher than an .800 win percentage. Currently on track to be the eighth, but there's a lot of conference yet to play.
Definitely the healthiest a Jacks team has been in a long while. Colonel did have a limp after the game as it looks like he had an ankle sprain with about a minute to go. But, depth has kept minutes reasonable for everyone. In a good position for the back half.
Unlike in recent years where we said we recruited shooters, this team is effective up and down the lineup in scoring. Of course the starters have the gaudy stats, but our b-line that plays after four minutes (Mohammed, Narit, Alisas, Scurry, and Smith Jr.) are getting it done. They have been holding their own.
Things are looking up inside the Sawmill. Crowds are getting more invested. It will be fun to see if the Jacks can blow this thing wide open this year.
I hate to be the one to throw a little H2O on your fire, but here goes...
1) I agree that Christmas is having a good season, rebounding especially (he can leap out of the gym), but I disagree that his shooting is better. I say that without researching his two-season stats. He misses a lot of close-in shots.
2) Just my opinion, but it doesn't seem as though the Jacks are playing as well now as they were a month ago. Maybe the SLC opponents have a better handle on understanding who this set of Jacks is, and how to play them.
3) The Jacks are not handling opponents' presses well. First it was McNeese and now UIW. Both of them gave the Jacks fits. Expect to see just about everyone pressing and trapping SFA the rest of the way.
4) Obviously, our free throw shooting has been bad. Did I see a graphic last night that said SFA is last in the conference in freebies?? We saw some hack-a-Colonel last night, and it was successful. Expect to see more of that in critical situations.
All of that to say, yeah, the Jacks are a VERY good mid-major team. Brauer and company have done an impressive job in bringing this group of former D-II, D-III, and transfers and gelling them into a cohesive unit. So, my point is, there's still lots of work to be done and improvements to be made. I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of more losses the rest of the way.
Looking for the presser?
As far as Christmas goes, he's scoring the same amount of buckets per game as last year on two and a half fewer attempts per game.
2024 season - 43% shooter
2025 season - 37% shooter
2026 season - 54% shooter
He's definitely being more selective and passing out when he doesn't have the advantage. I don't know if his "skill" has increased, but his situational awareness definitely has.
2024 season - 43% shooter
2025 season - 37% shooter
2026 season - 54% shooter
He's definitely being more selective and passing out when he doesn't have the advantage. I don't know if his "skill" has increased, but his situational awareness definitely has.
McNeese is the big dog in the SLC and has been mentioned before they get the outrageous benefit of hosting the Southland tournament. So whatever we think about ourselves, McNeese is a top 50 team in the nation and to replace them as top dog, someone has to beat them in the tournament at their place.
I think we showed we have the potential with a 2 point loss at their place.
We're 7-1 in conference. Of our 7 wins, the only game won by single digits was against Corpus when we won by 9 points. Our average margin of victory in conference is 14 points.
As a reminder, our last Southland title (Duke year), we went 7-1 through our first 8 games of conference with a 15 point average margin of victory. Finished 19-1.
Three road games to finish off playing every team for the first time will be big. New Orleans, Nicholls, and Lamar. No pushovers, but also not scary.
I think we showed we have the potential with a 2 point loss at their place.
We're 7-1 in conference. Of our 7 wins, the only game won by single digits was against Corpus when we won by 9 points. Our average margin of victory in conference is 14 points.
As a reminder, our last Southland title (Duke year), we went 7-1 through our first 8 games of conference with a 15 point average margin of victory. Finished 19-1.
Three road games to finish off playing every team for the first time will be big. New Orleans, Nicholls, and Lamar. No pushovers, but also not scary.
I like what CC brings to the table. Tough as nails with ball pressure and rebounding. Gives that extra effort. Needs to be in the game when the game is on the line.
I know it was a 6 p.m. tip, but attendance was underwhelming. Honestly, I'm not sure which is more baffling: that ESPN can't seem to stop listing us as SF Austin, or that the Nacogdoches/Lufkin community continues to under-support what's a very solid basketball program. I mean, it's Nacogdochesthere's not exactly an abundance of entertainment options!
nacluth said:
McNeese is the big dog in the SLC and has been mentioned before they get the outrageous benefit of hosting the Southland tournament. So whatever we think about ourselves, McNeese is a top 50 team in the nation and to replace them as top dog, someone has to beat them in the tournament at their place.
I think we showed we have the potential with a 2 point loss at their place.
We're 7-1 in conference. Of our 7 wins, the only game won by single digits was against Corpus when we won by 9 points. Our average margin of victory in conference is 14 points.
As a reminder, our last Southland title (Duke year), we went 7-1 through our first 8 games of conference with a 15 point average margin of victory. Finished 19-1.
Three road games to finish off playing every team for the first time will be big. New Orleans, Nicholls, and Lamar. No pushovers, but also not scary.
Ya. We are leaps and bounds (literally) than last 2 or 3 editions of Keller ball. And it's largely because of our offensive sets and rational substitutions. I liked Keller, but his substitution patterns were…. not helpful.
— SFA Men’s Basketball (@SFA_MBB) January 13, 2026
Did you ever think you would see this?
THE MORE YOU KNOW 😏 #AxeEm x #WinTogether https://t.co/ZgvXfQAQpz
— SFA Men’s Basketball (@SFA_MBB) January 13, 2026
I guess having the 20th best midmajor defense is something worth celebrating considering the past couple of years, but we're not that far removed of having one of the best defenses in the country period.
👋🔝2️⃣5️⃣
— SFA Men’s Basketball (@SFA_MBB) January 13, 2026
Jacks break into the @collegeinsider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, debuting at No. 2️⃣3️⃣ nationally! 🪓
📰: https://t.co/gt9H3jXLiW#AxeEm x #WinTogether pic.twitter.com/7xEICr29gq
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