Streaking Lumberjacks Turning Heads
2/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team took a big step toward the first Southland Conference championship in school history with last Thursday's win over preseason league favorite Sam Houston State. Apparently, the regionally telecast 79-57 victory not only extended the Lumberjacks' current winning streak to seven games; it also expanded the diameter of the media spotlight SFA has been flirting with since its mid-season upset win at Oklahoma.
Monday saw the 'Jacks break new ground in the national eye on multiple fronts. It started early with the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) score on RealTimeRPI.com, a site that replicates the formula used by the NCAA to measure teams against one another. SFA hovered near the mid-50s in last week's RPI report but bounced as high as 48 over the weekend, following the win over Sam Houston.
Monday morning, the Lumberjacks were listed at No. 46 in the RPI report, ahead of such teams as Texas A&M, Syracuse, Villanova, Ohio State, Texas Tech and Florida. The ranking is the highest for SFA since the RPI came into use. On the same site's Power Rankings scale, SFA looks even better. The Lumberjacks stand at No. 36 in the RealTimeRPI.com Power Rankings.
By mid-day, SFA had earned a new high on another national front. With the release of the Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Lumberjacks found themselves with a school-record seven votes. SFA was written in as the No. 24 team in the nation on three writers' ballots and was given the No. 25 nod on a fourth ballot, for a total of seven votes. SFA was given two votes in last week's AP Poll, the first time in school history for a Lumberjack team to earn multiple votes in one of the two major national polls.
Monday evening brought even more good news, as the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll was announced. SFA entered last week as the No. 9 team in the poll -- the school's highest ranking in the nine-year history of the Mid-Major Top 25. The Lumberjacks shattered that record with this week's poll, as they moved to No. 6 with 640 points, including the program's first-ever first-place vote.
SFA will try to continue its current wave of success Wednesday, when the Lumberjacks head to San Marcos, Texas, to take on Texas State. The game against the Bobcats is set for a 7 p.m. start from Strahan Coliseum. SFA is 22-3 on the season and leads the SLC West Division with a 10-2 record against league competition. The Lumberjacks trail SLC East Division foe Lamar by one game for the overall conference lead with four contests to go in the regular season.
-- SFA --
