Guest abovetherim Posted February 23, 2008 Report Posted February 23, 2008 February 23, 2008 Lamar men's b-ball team thinking postseason It took some time, but the Lamar men's basketball team has made its 1-5 start to the season a distant memory. The Cardinals (16-8, 10-1 Southland Conference) are on fire, having won nine consecutive games and 11 of their last 12 overall. They've sprinted into sole possession of first place in the SLC East Division, two and a half games ahead of Northwestern State (12-14, 8-4). The Cardinals also have the best league record and are a half-game ahead of Stephen F. Austin (22-3, 10-2). This is why they have to be thinking the postseason (NCAA Tournament or NIT) is within reach. Now, the only way any SLC team will reach the NCAA Tournament is by winning the conference tournament. SFA has the league's highest Ratings Percentage Index at 48, but its strength of schedule ranking of 248 won't convince the NCAA Tournament selection committee that it is worthy of an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Reaching the NIT, however, is a slightly different story. The NIT awards automatic berths to teams that win their conference regular season title. The provision, which went into effect last season, benefits regular-season champions of mid-major conferences who fail to win their conference tournament title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that comes with it. Lamar has five regular-season games remaining, starting with tonight's matchup against Northwestern State in Beaumont. If the Cardinals win out, they'll take the SLC regular-season crown and the No. 1 seed in the SLC tournament. SFA, which defeated Lamar 81-75 on Jan. 17, has four regular-season games left, starting with a road match against Texas State on Wednesday. The Lumberjacks will have to win out and Lamar lose at least one game in order to clinch the SLC regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the SLC tournament. http://blogs.chron.com/areacolleges/2008/02/lamar_mens_bball_team_thinking_1.html
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