For all of the posts in this series, visit the 2017-18 Non-Conference Scheduling Hub.

Ranking The Teams

With Stephen F. Austin edging into the four-year ranking’s top 100 and four teams in the bottom 50 (and a trio of teams ranking just above), there’s a serious quality gap in the Southland. SFA’s run of 12 and 14 seeds between 2014 and 2016 has been the exception, not the rule for league reps in the NCAA. Therefore, it should be no surprise that New Orleans, 273rd nationally in these standings, ended up in Dayton a season ago. It’s also not shocking that only the NEC, MEAC, and SWAC rank lower among Division I’s 32 conferences.

Ranking The Schedules

if you consider one factor that goes into building non-conference schedules, games against Division I opponents, it’s a surprise that Southland has five teams ranked in the top 50 nationally in the majority of the four categories. But then you consider the number of quality road games those squads will play and things make a lot more sense. Somewhat surprisingly, just four conference members have non-league slates that rank in the bottom 100 nationally in three of the four tables.

*Denotes team will participate in a bracketed tournament. Reminder: Known Score = known matchups only; Average Score = known games+average of potential bracketed matchups; Maximum Score = known games+games against best potential bracketed matchups; Minimum Score = known games+games against worst potential bracketed matchups

Who Over- And Under-Scheduled?

Of the Southland’s 13 teams, only Stephen F. Austin managed to under-schedule this season, by 185 places. Everyone else overdid it, though the margin varies by 302 places—that’s the distance between Lamar’s 13-place gap and UCA’s of 315. The Bears’ scheduling gap is, for the record, the sixth most substantial in all of D1.

Non-conference scheduling puts the Southland behind the eight ball right at the start. While the Southland is tied for seventh among the mid-major leagues when comparing non-conference home games, nearly three-fourths of those feature opponents from outside of Division I. That total of 45 non-D1 games leads all of Division I by a not insignificant margin—the second-place Big South has just 28 such games scheduled. Plus, Southland members will play nearly that many Power 7 road games—the total of 39 ranks third among mid-majors. That’s not a formula that will help a conference rise up the metrics tables.

Non-D1 games dominate Southland non-league slates, with 28 more contests league-wide than ones lined against the most frequently Division I league, the Sun Belt. But when you consider Southland members have just 46 games scheduled against other regional D1 teams, there might just be room for more cooperation between Southern conferences on scheduling. However, the financial constraints experienced by many Southland members might keep its teams chasing buy games.

The Southland’s non-D1 game problem is so pervasive that Northwestern State is even playing two lower-division squads away from home this season. And they’re not named Chaminade or Alaska Anchorage. In total, a mere 20 Southland non-conference home games will feature a Division I visitor. That cannot be good for ticket sales and the bottom line, even with Power 7 paychecks factored in.

Team-By-Team Breakdown

Teams are listed in order of their Average Schedule Strength National Ranking. Numbers in parentheses are opponent’s Team Score Ranking. Logos via SportsLogos.net.

6. Northwestern State Demons

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 4 wins (LeTourneau, LSU-Shreveport, ULM (N), Louisiana College) and 2 losses (@Oklahoma, @Rice)

While the Demons will visit Colorado State and host a non-D1 squad as part of the Jamaica Classic, they won’t be traveling to Montego Bay for the inaugural event. And that’s too bad, considering the two neutral-site games on this year’s schedule both feature lower-division teams. Still, Mick McConathy’s team should be well tested by the trip to Fort Collins and a quartet of power conference road games. On the other hand, it’s a shame that a team pegged as a potential Southland champion won’t get more realistic opportunities to improve its potential March placement.

16. Houston Baptist Huskies

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 3 wins (Dallas Christian, Saint Peter’s, Arlington Baptist) and 0 losses

HBU has won 17 games and reached the postseason in each of the last two seasons, and the Huskies could be poised to make the step up to the NCAAs this season. Five power conference road games and a 2K Classic subregional at Belmont should adequately prepare Ron Cottrell’s squad to meet that goal.

21. Central Arkansas Bears

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 0 wins and 3 losses (Little Rock, @Little Rock, @Morehead State)

In his three seasons in charge, Russ Pennell’s Bears have won just 17 total games, with only two of those coming out of Southland play. Four home contests give UCA hopes of improving that number in 2017, but with five Power 7 games also on the slate, expectations must be tempered. Note that Central Arkansas will play a pair of non-conference home-and-homes with Morehead State from the OVC and neighbors Little Rock.

25. Incarnate Word Cardinals

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Texas Lutheran) and 1 loss (@Loyola Marymount)

The Cardinals join Abilene Christian in jumping up to the ranks of the NCAA Tournament-eligible. However, UIW is coming off its worst transitional season, having recorded just 12 wins. While Ken Burmeister’s team might be able to sweep its six home games, the four road contests—including trips to national runner-up Gonzaga and Elite Eight squad Florida—could all be beatdowns.

42. New Orleans Privateers

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Williams Baptist) and 1 loss (Louisiana)

The 2017 Southland Tournament champs will have to defend their title without a quartet of key seniors. And with just three home games on the schedule, the path to a second straight 20-win season will require either a few upset wins on the road or another run through conference play.

106. McNeese State Cowboys

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Southern-New Orleans) and 2 losses (Louisiana, @North Carolina State)

McNeese closes Burton Coliseum with a four-game non-conference home slate that doesn’t feature a single Division I foe. But since a Cowboy team that won just seven times last season actually lost its home opener to Louisiana College, you can’t just pencil in four wins for Dave Simmons’s squad. And with trips to Houston, San Diego State and a pair of ACC foes in North Carolina State and Pittsburgh on tap as well, it could be another long season in Lake Charles.

113. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 6 wins (Our Lady of the Lake, @UTRGV, @Texas State, UTRGV, St. Mary’s (Texas), UTSA) and 0 losses

In 2016-17, the Islanders won 19 regular-season games and five more in the postseason, as they fell to Saint Peter’s in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament final. Corpus Christi should again find itself in the thick of the conference race, even after the departure of a trio of key seniors. However, they’ll probably enter Southland play with fewer than the seven wins they recorded in non-league play a year ago. While Willis Wilson’s team should sweep its four home games, the path to three non-league road wins looks to be a perilous one.

129. Sam Houston State Bearkats

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Idaho) and 1 loss (@Baylor)

Jason Hooten has largely continued with Bob Marlin started in Huntsville, finishing under .500 just once since taking over in 2010-11. Last season, the Bearkats won 21 games, but they stumbled through the latter stages of league play and eventually lost to New Orleans in the conference semifinals. Nine of SHSU’s victories came in non-league play. They’ll likely have to make a run through the final Great Alaska Shootout to equal that total this year, especially with three Power 7 games awaiting them upon their return to the Lower 48.

216. Southeastern Louisiana Lions

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 0 wins and 1 loss (@Tulane)

The Lions, winners of 16 a season ago, are another Southland squad with a home slate full of non-D1 foes. That’s a change from a season ago, when SELA won a trio of D1 home games, all against MEAC or SWAC foes. Jay Ladner’s club also won at UTEP and Southern, and they’ll require similar results to meet last fall’s non-league win total of seven. And that won’t be an easy feat, not with games at Valparaiso, UCF, Louisiana, and Notre Dame on the slate.

259. Nicholls State Colonels

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 2 wins (Mobile, Spring Hill) and 1 loss (@Louisiana)

Last season, Nicholls opened its account with a win at Boston College en route to a surprise non-conference mark of 7-6 and overall record of 14-17. But the Colonels’ first Power 7 test of this season will be just a little more difficult, as they visit Villanova as part of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Still, with six home games and a pair of games in a weak Atlantis Mainland bracket, Richie Riley could see his team improve upon last season’s non-league performance.

284. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Longwood) and 2 losses (@ULM, @Rice)

Naturally, the Lumberjacks took a step back in their first season since Brad Underwood left Nacogdoches, but Kyle Keller still won 18 games in his debut campaign. However, just five of those came before Southland play, thanks to a brutal slate that started at Rupp Arena and ended in Honolulu. But with eight home games and more manageable power conference road trips on the agenda for November and December 2017, SFA could get off to a much better start this fall.

288. Lamar Cardinals

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Howard Payne) and 0 losses

Last season, Tic Price’s Cardinals won 19 games (including one at Oregon State), an eight-game improvement from 2015-16 and good enough for a place in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. This time around, higher expectations are in place, and Lamar could deliver thanks to a slate that features six home games and just one Power 7 road game. Even the four games scheduled as part of the Las Vegas Classic are manageable, though a semifinal against UC Davis would have been an ideal second day matchup. Lamar is yet another Southland squad that’s attempted to alleviate its scheduling difficulties by scheduling a non-league home-and-home series—with the Sun Belt’s Coastal Carolina.

298. Abilene Christian Wildcats

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 3 wins (Schreiner, Howard Payne, Randall) and 0 losses

The Wildcats won 13 games in their final transitional season, but six of those came before Southland play. And with a half-dozen home games, including four against non-D1 foes, ACU should be able to at least equal their November and December win total this time around. A round-robin event at Campbell, a short trip to Texas Tech, and a home-and-home series with Lipscomb highlight a slate designed to prepare the Wildcats for their first season of NCAA eligibility.

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