MBB: Southland Conference Power Rankings - Week 1

Merry Christmas to all and welcome back to another year of Southland Conference Power Rankings in men's basketball. The non-conference season has wrapped up, 2018 is just around the corner and we're a mere hours away from the first SLC-on-SLC action since the month was March.

Follow me on Twitter right here for more in-depth coverage as the league season gets underway and, of course, check back right here each week as we run through the Southland Conferece. 

Sign up for a free account right here and join the conversation below. Be sure to check back next week to see where your team stands.

1. Stephen F. Austin

2017-18 record: 11-2 (0-0) | Last week: 1

The overall clear favorite. The ‘Jacks are 11-2, with two near upsets (Mississippi State and Mizzou by a combined six points) away from being undefeated and in the Top25 conversation. They already are for a few national media guys. So far, the Lumberjacks look like the real deal. Starting at SLU will be a good test to begin conference play.

2. Lamar

2017-18 record: 8-5 (0-0) | Last week: 2

The Cards were, and still are my clear number two, although gap between them and SFA widened last week. A rough stretch for the Cardinals, coming off four straight losses going into conference play. Although I wouldn’t consider any of them bad.

3. Abilene Christian

2017-18 record: 8-5 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 3

I still like ACU as an overall team, and should have a nice home court advantage during SLC play. Some solid wins for the Wildcats this season, but still have a lot to work on if they want to be a title contender in this league.

4. Central Arkansas

2017-18 record: 6-7 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 4

Coming off a thrashing of Cal and win over UALR, the Bears dropped a close one to Morehead State and had a decent showing at Oregon. Jordan Howard (24.8 PPG) is as advertised, and is a solid option for SLC POY.

5. Nicholls

2017-18 record: 6-7 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 5

Spots 5-13 could easily be interchangeable. Behind Roddy Peters (18.5 PPG) Nicholls State leads the league in points per game (89.5), so they get my 5th seed.

6. Incarnate Word

2017-18 record: 5-5 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 6

The Cardinals had a good game versus Florida, and get 7-foot Konstantin Kulikov transfer (San Jacinto) back after being ineligible the first semester.

7. New Orleans

2017-18 record: 3-8 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 7

Last year’s SLC Champs have had a below average season thus far. But don’t let their record fool you, UNO has been playing better the last few weeks including a near upset at UAB. If they can get a win vs ACU, they’ll have some momentum.

8. Southeastern Louisiana

2017-18 record: 6-7 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 8

The Lions lost a bad one at home to Grambling, and have struggled offensively. A candidate for a Top four seed in the conference tournament is still a possibility here. But Marlain Veal can’t do it by himself.

9. Sam Houston State

2017-18 record: 6-6 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 9

The Bearkats are almost .500, but only have two D1 wins (UALR and Santa Clara). And haven’t really been competitive against superior competition.

10. Houston Baptist

2017-18 record: 4-9 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 10

The Huskies have had a brutal non-conference schedule, I’m going to say they’ll move up as conference play goes on. Big man Josh Ibarra (averaging 16 & 10) can be a problem for a lot of teams in this league.

11. Texas A&M-CC

2017-18 record: 3-7 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 11

Islanders have been pretty quiet. Especially after losing All-SLC guard Ehab Amin for the season. Joseph Kilgore is playing well and in the top 5 of SLC scoring leaders. But they’ll need to improve as a team to make some noise this year.

12. McNeese

2017-18 record: 3-7 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 12

Not much expected from the Cowboys this year, and they haven’t shown me anything to think they’ll make the conference tournament.

13. Northwestern State

2017-18 record: 3-8 (0-0) | Last week's rank: 13

The Demons got Jalan West back. But that hasn’t helped much. They rank at the bottom of the league in pretty much every statistical category.