If I had to rank the teams after two weeks (Crazy thing to do):

1. SFA
2. Lamar
HUGE GAP
3. Nicholls
4. Central Arkansas
5. Abilene Christian
6. Sam Houston
7. Southeastern
8. UIW
9. Houston Baptist
10. New Orleans
11. Northwestern State
12. A&M-CC
13. McNeese

Just saw where Lamar is up by 13 on UTEP with a minute to go.

I think you got the top two right. I think you have way overrated Nicholls despite their prolific offense. Their defense is just too prolific. New Orleans has played solid games despite their roster turnover. No big wins, no big losses. SELA looks like a team to buy during conference play.

Nice article on SI about Jordan Howard.

Jordan Howard is better than Steph Curry

Actually I just named it that. It's really called something else.

nacluth said:

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Nice article on SI about Jordan Howard.

Jordan Howard is better than Steph Curry

Actually I just named it that. It's really called something else.

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Are you trying to steal Isaac's boyfriend?

Ha. Actually I was poking a little fun myself.

Lamar beat Coastal Carolina again...this time in overtime. HBU punished Texas State. I don't know if this has as much to do with HBU as for Texas St. I root for Kaspar, but his fifth year in really needs an upswing.

Sam's playing tight with Baylor tonight...oh wait, no they are not. Getting the doors blown off of them. It's ok because we know Baylor loses in the first round regardless of seeding. Every year.

UCA 76
San Francisco 78

UCA is 2014 NWST. Keep them under 80 and you win.

UCA apparently loves playing in California.

It was a big night for the Southland.
SFA over Louisiana Tech 85-83
Abilene Christian over Air Force 62-58
Central Arkansas over Cal 96-69

There were also a couple of failures...
Saint Peters over Houston Baptist 76-74
UT Rio Grand Valley over TAMU Corpus Christi 82-78

Big name win for UCA, and nice for the league, but Cal is bad. Cal lost to Chaminade 96-72. Also has an embarrassing loss to UC-Riverside...

nacluth said:

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UCA apparently loves playing in California.

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They're thinking about moving to the LA area, going to be UC Anaheim.

Looks like it is setting up for the Southland to have another good day tomorrow...

Rice @ SFA - SFA
Texas State @ Abilene Christian - ACU
Howard Payne @ Lamar - Lamar
McNeese @ North Texas - UNT
Northwestern State @ Louisiana College - NWST
Little Rock @ Central Arkansas - UCA
Houston Baptist @ UTSA - UTSA (Should be the best game of the bunch)

Kevon Harris PPG:17.5;RPG:6.1;AST:5;BLK:2;STL:13;FG%:.513;3PTFG:.452;FT%:.73

Last Two Games
PPG:28;RPG:6.0;FG:.744;3PTFG%:.864 (11-14) FT%:75

Picked all of the games right, but it turns out TXST/ACU was the best with ACU winning 72-68. HBU got trounced by UTSA 87-71...

New Power Rankings:
1. SFA - The most consistent team, and has bigger wins than anyone else
2. Lamar - SFA may be the most consistent, but Lamar isn't far behind. Not the most challenging schedule, but they have beaten the teams they are supposed to, and impressively at that.
3. Southeastern Louisiana - Not the prettiest of starts, but since their win over Kent State, they have picked things up. A game against UCF should tell us a little more.
4. Central Arkansas - The win over Cal was nice, and playing close to UCLA opened eyes early. Losses to Little Rock, San Francisco, and Tulsa leave for hesitation. They are inconsistent, but when they are on, they are as good as anyone.
5. Abilene Christian - Good ACU includes a win over Air Force, Bowling Green, and Texas State. Bad ACU loses to South Carolina - Upstate. I think they are going to be good, and a tough out.
6. Nicholls - Nobody is doubting Nicholls offensively, but like the 2014 edition of Northwestern State, there is no defense. I think the Colonels will be a tough out in a lot of games, but a decent defense should do enough to slow them down.
7. New Orleans - After a bad start, the wins aren't coming in, but the Privateers are more competitive.
8. Sam Houston - Another hard team to get a feel for. The Kats haven't played a hard schedule and have lost to the opponents with a pulse. Their wins come over UT-Tyler, Hardin Simmons, Santa Clara, Schreiner College, and St. Thomas. Santa Clara is their only win away from Huntsville (In Anchorage).
9. Houston Baptist - Hard to tell with this team. They have played a brutal schedule, but they have not been competitive in any of their games outside of an okay win over Texas State.
10. Northwestern State - The Demons are showing a pulse. Their schedule is still weak, but they have been somewhat better lately.
11. TAMU-CC - No Thomas, no Amin, no luck. They are not the same team they were a year ago, and it is going to take some time.
12. Incarnate Word - They are yet to defeat a DI opponent this year, as their 4-3 record is very deceiving. Already spanked by Houston and Gonzaga, look for another epic beating when the Cardinals go to Florida.
13. McNeese - The Cowboys are not good right now. Their losses have been bad, and their wins aren't over good teams.

Power rankings seem legit for SELA. They just played UCF to the very end holding the lead late, but lost in the final minute when they couldn't make the shots. UCF recently beat Alabama and lost to both Missouri and St John's by 3. It would have been a huge win for SELA. Maybe the Southland won't be that much of a cakewalk.

Louisiana Tech lost another home game, this one to Louisiana-Lafayette 75-71.

Ole Miss has been beaten by several midmajors this year, Sam will not be one of them.

Ole Miss 82 - Sam 69

Never really in doubt. Rebels led by 20 at one point in the second half, and held a double digit lead most of the night. UNO lost to SMU 79-66.

cboothe09 said:

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Ole Miss 82 - Sam 69

Never really in doubt. Rebels led by 20 at one point in the second half, and held a double digit lead most of the night. UNO lost to SMU 79-66.

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Any night that Prison Tech loses (in any sport, but especially men's hoops) is a good night for me.

SFA carrying the banner tonight. McNeese is throttled by Pitt and Southeastern is shocked by Grambling. UIW currently battling to the final whistle with UMKC...

SFA (@ LSU), UIW (vs. UMKC), and Nicholls (vs. Culver-Stockton) are the only SLC schools to win...McNeese (@ Pitt), SELA (vs. Grambling), NWST (VS. LSU-SHREVEPORT), and UNO (@ Louisiana) all are the epitome of brutality...

Some fun SLC games coming up Monday and Tuesday.
Monday:
HBU @ #2 Michigan State - Ouch
Nicholls @ Tulane - Interesting
Tuesday:
Corpus @ Ole Miss - Interesting
NWST @ Oklahoma - OUCH
Lamar @ Duquesne - Interesting
Sam @ LSU - Interesting, Sam loses but a measuring stick
SFA @ Mizzou - *Grins and giggles*
UIW @ UTEP - Interesting

Every time I think they are starting to show signs of life and ready to make a jump, they poop the bed...They are bad. Tuesday's game @ Oklahoma is going to be UGLY

PurpleOut said:

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Demons lost to LSU-Shreveport...again.

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In NSU's defense (and I hate to defend either NSU or Prison Tech), LSU-S is the #2 ranked NAIA team in the country, and all of their players are transfers with experience at other schools.

Ok 3 games played by some of our stiffest SLC opponents today. All losses for the SLC.

Abilene lost a tight game away to a really good Lipscomb team. The fact that it was so tight is a good statement by ACU.

C. Arkansas lost to Morehead St. away after beating them at home earlier this year. UCA scored 20 in the first half, but followed it up with 58 in the second to force OT, and then lost. Kind of on par with their season so far.

Lamar lost away to a very decent So. Illinois team. However, if Lamar wants to remain in the same conversation as SFA in the Southland, this was a game they needed. Obviously conference play is less than two weeks away, but this was really the clear separating weekend for SFA in the perception of our conference.

I don't think the next 48 hours run much better for the Southland. There are some epic beatings coming in the next two days...Looking at you HBU, Northwestern, and Sam...

Tonight's Southland results:
#2 Michigan State 107 - HBU 62
Tulane 76 - Nicholls 69
New Orleans 107 - Panhandle State 59