MBB: Southland Conference Power Rankings - Week 5

Another week down and one closer to conference play. As the pre-Southland season winds down, the surprises thus far have been Southeastern Louisiana’s strong play and the poor performance of Lamar despite signs they could improve this season.

Perennial powerhouse SFA is still struggling to limit turnovers while Corpus and Sam look like the top of the class. But the biggest surprise of this week? Abilene Christian, my one time favorite isn't looking so good anymore and it caused a big shuffling in the ranks this week. 

Do you agree? Disagree? Should someone be ranked higher or lower? Sign up for a free account right here and join the conversation below. Share this with other Southland Conference fans and encourage them to join the discussion as well. Be sure to check back next week to see where your team stands.

---

1. Texas A&M-CC

2016-17 record: 7-2 | Week 3 ranking: 1

A four-point win of UTSA this week is not building any confidence in this team. On the bright side, they have shown they can gut out close games. With a matchup against Oklahoma State on the horizon, it will be interesting to see just how far this team has progressed in this non-conference season. The Islanders hold the top spot for this week but the margin between them and runner-up is as slim as it gets.

2. Sam Houston State

2016-17 record: 8-3 | Week 3 ranking: 3

Corpus is 1A, Sam is 1B. It’s not clear who the better team is at this point in the season but it is clear that these two are ahead of the pack at this point. It will be interesting to see how they handle Arkansas this week, a team that easily disposed of Southland foe SFA last month.

3. Incarnate Word

2016-17 record: 5-5 | Week 3 ranking: 4

Hardly a good week for the Cardinals with a blowout loss to UNLV and a tough one-point loss to Loyola Marymount. They move up only because ACU looked so bad. I don't foresee them beating Memphis this week so their grasp of the #3 spot is shaky at best.

4. Abilene Christian

2016-17 record: 6-4 | Week 3 ranking: 2

There are cracks beginning form for the Wildcats. The tough defense that made them so dangerous early has gone MIA and it's been a bit ugly. A less than convincing 4-point win over Randell University this week was followed by a very bad loss to Sacramento State on Saturday. I’m not writing off ACU but if they don't find their defense, they are going struggle to keep up with some of the potent offenses in conference play.

5. Southeastern Louisiana

2016-17 record: 6-5 | Week 3 ranking: 5

An impressive blowout win over a Florida Atlantic started off the week with a bang for the Lions but a letdown versus Toledo is going to keep the Lions steady at #5 for another week. I honestly have no idea who this team is and which version of them is going to show up from game to game - but I do know that they have the talent to compete with anyone in the league.

6. Northwestern State

2016-17 record: 5-5 | Week 3 ranking: 7

After a bye week, the Demons came back strong with a victory at home against UL-Monroe in a game they led from wire to wire. Conquering the Warhawks in convincing fashion was something that the Lumberjacks failed to do and for that they get the #6 nod this week. Both SFA and Northwestern State have now lost narrow ones to Rice.

7. Stephen F. Austin

2016-17 record: 4-5 | Week 3 ranking: 6

The Lumberjacks made quick work of LSU-Shreveport in their final tune up game before the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii later this week. They turned it over another 21 times (as has often been custom for this team) but it was the kind of confidence-boost this group needed. If they play like they have for most of this season, the only souvenir they will be bringing back from Hawaii is three losses.

8. New Orleans

2016-17 record: 4-5 | Week 3 ranking: 10

So close! It looked as though New Orleans was going to pull off the big upset over UL-Lafayette this week but fell flat in the last two minutes. For the Privateers to be within minutes of winning over a team of that caliber is promising as has been a lot of the rest of the non-conference season for New Orleans. If they play like this in January, they’ll be causing havoc in the standings.

9. Nicholls

2016-17 record: 6-6 | Week 3 ranking: 8

I’m finally ready to admit that I over-ranked this team in my first edition. Since their opening win over Boston College, Nicholls hasn't looked like much against any team that has talent. They barely scraped out wins over Bethune-Cookman and Sanford and have gotten run out of the building by every other DI opponent on their schedule.

10. Houston Baptist

2016-17 record: 4-5 | Week 3 ranking: 12

Midway through a game against Arlington Baptist this week, I was ready to drop the Huskies to #13. But to their credit, they came out in the second half and played the best basketball I’ve seen from them. A 36-point win against a non-DI opponent isn't overly impressive - but to build a 36-point lead in 20 minutes shows me that this team has firepower.

11. Lamar

2016-17 record: 5-5 | Week 3 ranking: 9

The free-fall continues for the Cardinals after losing to a mediocre UT Rio Grande Valley team by double figures. Lamar has shown some bright spots this season but their shortcomings have mostly overshadowed the good. With conference play just around the corner, its now or never for them to find a rhythm.

12. Central Arkansas

2016-17 record: 1-10 | Week 3 ranking: 11

Well, the slow and painful death march for the Bears continued this week with beatings from Michigan and Arkansas State, as UCA became the first team to double-digit losses in the conference. The good news is that this week they get to play Morehead State, a team in disarray after they had to fire their coach for abusing players this week. If they can’t pull off a win in that one then this team could be in for a long season.

13. McNeese

2016-17 record: 2-7| Week 3 ranking: 13

No surprise on who's in the basement this week. A 36-point loss to SMU and an 8-point loss to North Carolina Central squashed any chance this team had to move up. With Tulane and NC State on tap for this week, its going to take either a miracle or someone above them to really screw up to get out of this spot next week.