Conference Tournament Preview: Southland Conference

History: Unlike other conferences, no one team has dominated this league. The leader in tournament titles is Northeast Louisiana, who won six titles between 1986 and 1996. Now known as Louisiana-Monroe, they left the conference after the 2006 season. Lamar is the active leader in titles, with four (none since 2012). In 2021, little Abilene Christian pulled off a massive upset when they defeated Texas in a 14-vs-3 matchup. They have since moved on to the WAC.

Returning Champion: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi won their second straight championship in 2023. They were forced into the First Four, where they defeated Southeast Missouri State before losing to Alabama by 21 in a 16-vs-1 matchup.

Format:  Eight of the ten teams make the field (this year, Houston Christian and Incarnate Word missed the cut). It’s a stepladder format, with the top two seeds automatically advanced to the semifinals. #7 seed Texas A&M-Commerce is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament if they win. They are still in their Division I transition period.

Favorite:  McNeese State (28-3, 17-1)

The Cowboys are 58th in the NET and were on the bubble’s bubble for a large chunk of the season. During the season, they ranked in the Top 75 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. They earned three Quad 2 wins, including a road win over VCU in the season opener. Their at-large hopes were dashed by a Quad 4 loss to Southeastern Louisiana.

Their rise to this level is rather amazing. Before this season, they hadn’t accomplished a winning season since 2011-2012. Former LSU coach Will Wade is the catalyst.

Their average margin of victory is an impressive 19 points, as they average 80.2 points (44th) while allowing only 61.2 (4th). They rank 9th in the nation in 3-point shooting at 38.6%/

Contenders: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (21-10, 14-4), Nicholls (18-13, 13-5), Lamar (18-13, 12-6)

Live Long Shot:  Northwestern State (9-22, 7-11)

Preview:

McNeese is dominant. Is there anyone who can challenge them?

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is the #2 seed. They lost both games to McNeese by a combined eight points and finished the season on a 7-game winning streak. They played Texas Tech within nine back in November. The Islanders are in the Top 100 in defensive efficiency and allowed only 66 points per game. This is a team that McNeese wouldn’t want to see in the title game.

Nicholls went 5-1 down the stretch. However, they played McNeese twice in their final seven games, losing by a combined 48 points. They have four players who average double-digits and they are on the opposite side of the bracket, but it is hard to see them winning this tournament.

Lamar played a tough game against Nicholls on 2/26, losing by only two (58-56). They are a pretty good offensive team with plenty of depth (ten players average 10+ minutes). At their best, they can offer Nicholls a tough game. Given that they are on the same side of the bracket, they will need to slay the beast.

Northwestern State went 0-11 in the non-conference and didn’t win a game all season outside of Quadrant 4. However, if they can survive the 6-vs-7 game (not guaranteed), it should be noted that they played Nicholls within single digits twice this year. All but one of their conference wins this year came against squads that ended up losing 20+ games, making them more of a “best of the rest” than a true giant killer.

Bottom Line:

McNeese is the team you want if you want a team that can do a little damage in the NCAA Tournament. They are by far the best team here.

Winner: McNeese.