Oct. 19, 2005
PLANO, Texas - The 2005 Southland Preseason Polls for men's basketball were released Wednesday morning by the league office. Texas-Arlington was voted fifth in the Coaches Poll and was tabbed sixth in the Sport Information Director's Poll.
Texas-Arlington, coming off of a 13-15 season returns four starters from last year's team, including 2004-05 first-team all-SLC selection Steven Thomas. Thomas leads a group of 11 returning letterwinners into the 2005-06 season. Thomas led the team last year, averaging 17.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest.
Ten of the 11 head coaches in the Southland picked Northwestern to win the title while Lamar University, picked second in the poll, received the other first-place vote. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
Southeastern Louisiana, who finsihed last season as co-champions and won the conference tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament is picked third, followed by Sam Houston State at the four spot..
After the Mavericks at number five, Texas-San Antonio comes in at number six.The final spots were awarded to McNeese State (7th), Stephen F. Austin (8th), Texas State (9th), Louisiana-Monroe (10th) and Nicholls State (11th).
The Sports Information Director poll agreed with the Coaches Poll except for the Mavericks and Roadrunners rotating spots at five and six, along with SFA and McNeese State tying for the seventh spot.
The Mavericks open their campaign at the 11th Annual Black Coaches Association (BCA) Classic in Seattle, Wash., on Sunday, Nov. 13. The three-day, eight-team exempt tournament, hosted by the University of Washington, features four games each day and concludes with the championship game on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Texas-Arlington will open against Miami (Fla.) at 2p.m. (PT) on Nov. 13. The other teams in the tournament are Air Force, Morgan State, UNC-Greensboro, Northern Arizona and Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Coaches Poll (1st-place votes) Points
1. Northwestern State (10) 100 2. Lamar (1) 85 3. Southeastern Louisiana 72 4. Sam Houston State 70 5. Texas-Arlington 62 6. Texas-San Antonio 55 7. McNeese State 47 8. Stephen F. Austin 42 9. Texas State 34 10. Louisiana-Monroe 24 11. Nicholls State 14
Sports Information Directors Points
1. Northwestern State (10) 120 2. Lamar (1) 95 3. Southeastern Louisiana 87 4. Sam Houston State 85 5. Texas-San Antonio 77 6. Texas-Arlington 66 7. McNeese State 50 Stephen F. Austin 50 9. Texas State 49 10. Louisiana-Monroe 34 11. Nicholls State 13
