SFA Vaults Into Mid-Major Top 25
12/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2007
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin's upset victory at Oklahoma Saturday might not aid the Lumberjacks in their quest for their first Southland Conference championship. But the impressive win is already paying dividends in terms of notoriety. After seeing highlights of their win on major sports networks Saturday and Sunday, the Lumberjacks got a more tangible reward for their labor Monday with the release of the newest Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
After playing the first five weeks of the season without receiving a vote in the poll, SFA used Saturday's 66-62 win over the Sooners to extend its five-game winning streak and catapult into the rankings at No. 25. SFA received 82 points in the poll and is one of two teams this week to join the Top 25 after not cracking the field in the last poll.
This marks the Lumberjacks' first appearance in the Mid-Major Top 25 since Feb. 9, 2004. SFA spent nine weeks in the poll that year before back-to-back losses in February knocked it out. The Lumberjacks join SLC foes Sam Houston State (No. 9) and Texas-Arlington (No. 14) in this week's poll, marking the first time in the nine-year history of the Mid-Major Top 25 for three teams from the Southland to make the cut in the same week. The poll is a production of CollegeInsider.com, and its voting panel is comprised of 31 head coaches representing teams from the 22 NCAA Division I mid-major conferences.
SFA's inclusion in the Mid-Major Top 25 is just the most recent wave of buzz created by the Lumberjacks' win at Oklahoma. The Lumberjacks were lauded for the upset victory with highlight clip appearances during college basketball halftime shows on both ESPN and CBS Saturday.
Later that evening, highlights from the game were featured on ESPN News, and the Lumberjacks' win was dubbed the surprise of the day by analyst Stephen Bardo during the "One-and-One" college basketball segment on SportsCenter. Monday, Dick Vitale named the game one of his two "Shocks of the Week" on Dickey V's Awards, a feature authored weekly on ESPN.com by the former coach-turned national college basketball analyst and celebrity.
The win improved the Lumberjacks' record to 7-1, matching the program's best record through eight games in 26 years and continuing the best start to a season since SFA joined the NCAA Division I ranks in the 1987-88 season. SFA will try to keep its momentum rolling this weekend when the Lumberjacks hit the road again. SFA will take on the University of San Diego Saturday in a 3 p.m. contest.
-- SFA --
