Sam Houston State ranks second among Texas NCAA Div. I teams in victories since 2000
2/28/2007 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Among the 20 NCAA Division I men's basketball programs in Texas, only the Texas Longhorns have won more games in the new century than Sam Houston State. Totaling the eight seasons from 2000 to 2007, Texas has won 189 games, Sam Houston 145, followed by Texas Tech 141, and UTEP 137.
| League | NCAA | |||||
| Won | Lost | Pct. | Titles | Appearances | ||
| 1 | Texas | 193 | 70 | .734 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | Sam Houston State | 148 | 85 | .635 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Texas Tech | 144 | 107 | .574 | 3 | |
| 4 | UTEP | 138 | 110 | .556 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | SMU | 124 | 109 | .532 | ||
| 6 | Rice | 115 | 118 | .494 | ||
| 7 | Texas A&M | 115 | 120 | .489 | 1 | |
| 8 | Stephen F. Austin | 114 | 108 | .514 | ||
| 9 | TCU | 113 | 130 | .465 | ||
| 10 | TX-Arlington | 112 | 114 | .496 | 1* | |
| 11 | TX-San Antonio | 109 | 120 | .476 | 1* | 1 |
| 12 | Lamar | 109 | 114 | .489 | 1 | |
| 13 | Houston | 107 | 132 | .448 | ||
| 14 | TX-Pan American | 98 | 132 | .426 | ||
| 15 | Texas Southern | 97 | 131 | .425 | 1 | |
| 16 | TX St-San Marcos | 93 | 132 | .413 | ||
| 17 | Baylor | 93 | 124 | .429 | ||
| 18 | North Texas | 93 | 132 | .413 | ||
| 19 | TX A&M-Corpus Christi | 90 | 48 | .652 | ||
| 20 | Prairie View | 64 | 162 | .283 | 1 |
Since 2000, Head Coach Bob Marlin's Bearkats have won two Southland Conference titles and reached the finals of the SLC post-season tournament twice. The Kats have finished among the SLC's top three teams four of those seven seasons.
Sam Houston has racked up non-conference victories over Missouri, Texas Tech, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Loyola-Marymount. The Bearkats have not lost a non-SLC game at home since Texas A&M edged SHSU 73-70 in November, 1998.
Since the celebration of a new century, ten Sam Houston State players have earned All-Southland Conference honors a total of 15 times. Two Bearkats have been named as Southland “Players of the Year,” one as “Newcomer of the Year,” and another as “Freshman of the Year.” Sam Houston State's records of 23-7 in 2003, 22-7 in 2000, 22-9 in 2006, and 20-8 this year are the three best marks in the university's NCAA Division I history.
During the first seven years of the 21st century, Sam Houston State players have broken 23 school records and posted the longest NCAA Division I winning streak in school history (10 victories in 2003). Bob Marlin, head coach of the Bearkats, has been named Southland Conference “Coach of the Year” twice in the past five years (2000 and 2003).
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| The Bearkats |
TEAM EFFORT KEY TO KAT SUCCESS
There is only two words to describe the reason behind the success of the Sam Houston State men's basketball squad ? team effort.
The Bearkats don't have a team loaded with stars but consist of 11 guys who know their roles and each bring something different to a program in search of another Southland Conference championship.
When SHSU last won the SLC regular season and tournament titles in 2003, guys like Robert Shannon, Donald Cole, Eddy Barlow, Jay Oliphant, Felton Freeman and Jason Stephenson understood that the concept of playing as a team was the only thing which would lead to winning.
When most of those players showed up in 2002, the potential was there but something was missing. The Bearkats notched impressive wins that season over Texas Tech, Nebraska, and Bradley, yet when SLC play rolled around, they lost several close league games and missed out on the postseason tournament.
But in 2003, something clicked and SHSU advanced all the way to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.
“In 2002, we couldn't win a close game in conference,” Bearkat head coach Bob Marlin said. “It came down to senior day at home against Lamar that season and if we won we would have finished fourth in the league and hosted a first round (SLC) tournament game. We ended up losing and missed the entire tournament. It was disappointing.
“The next year, with that group coming back, it was Robert Shannon who took lead of the team. It happened on the road at McNeese where they had won 28 games in a row at home. Robert called out Donald Cole in the locker room in a way Donald responded to and told him we needed more than just scoring. Donald came off the bench in the second half and sparked us.We won that game and after that we took off.”
Former SHSU standout Chris Jordan was a freshman on the 2003 championship team, and as a senior last season, he helped the core of this year's squad understand the meaning of team work.
Last season, the Bearkats won seven games by six points or less because they trusted in each other, and this year, the trend has continued.
SHSU is 20-8 coming into the final week of the regular season.The Bearkats have racked up the victories by being unselfish. Eight SHSU players are averaging over five points a game, and each night someone different steps up. Each of those eight has been the Kats' leading scorer in at least one game this year.
“All of our guys are capable of scoring and we know that,” said senior point guard Jejuan Plair, who is second in the SLC in assists per game with 5.87. “It basically goes by who is hot that night. It isn't about what your stats look like or how many points you can score, it is about how many games you can win.”
The Bearkats are one of the deepest teams in the SLC with nine players averaging double digit minutes of playing time each contest. And the other two guys on the roster still average seven.
To put things into perspective, SHSU doesn't have one player in the top 15 in the SLC in minutes played a game. But everybody has a hand in the victories.
Ryan Bright (15.2), Plair (11.8) and Wade (11.5) are the only Kats averaging double digits in scoring, but Barrett (7.5), C.J. Hadley (6.5), Jeremy Thomas (6.5) and Shamir McDaniel (5.9) have all come up big at one point or another this season.
“I think we have a good group of guys and all spend a lot of time together,” Barrett said. “That made my transition from junior college very easy. Everybody on this team wants to win. The one goal we all have in common is we want to win a Southland Conference title and it takes a team to do that.”
The Bearkats certainly played like a team during last week's Louisiana road swing. Eight of the 10 guys who saw action in the 69-45 victory over Southeastern got on the scoreboard.
One of the players that didn't score was Thomas, and he responded with nine in the 81-61 win against the Colonels, as nine SHSU players put up points. More impressive in the victory was 20 of the Bearkats' 29 baskets were assisted, and during a 15-0 run that put the game away to start the second half, all five players on the court hit shots.
“We are a team on and off the court,” Thomas said. “A lot of us hang out together, spend time together, so all of us are friends. When we get out there to play it is just like playing with your buddies. You work hard for each other and do everything for the man standing beside you.”
“We teach team basketball. It is the philosophy we have built this program on,” Marlin said. “It is part of our success. The guys don't care who gets the credit as long as we win.”
BEARKATS 6-1 ON ROAD IN SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE IN 2007
The Sam Houston State basketball team is closing in on a shot at a regular season Southland Conference title heading into the final two games of the season. The Bearkats (12-2 in SLC, 20-8 overall) are 11-1 at Johnson Coliseum this season including 6-1 in league play.
But the impressive thing has been SHSU's dominance on the road in conference. The Kats are also 6-1 away from Huntsville heading into tonight's final road game against Texas-San Antonio. In the six victories, the team has been shooting a blistering average of 49 percent from the floor.
“We started conference with a win at Southeastern Louisiana when we had a great shooting night, and two days later we did it again at Nicholls (State),” SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. “From a confidence standpoint, it has really helped us because we know that we can go on the road and win games.”
It's not just the fact that the Bearkats have be winning on the road, but it is who they have beaten that really stands out.
A week after suffering a disappointing home loss to McNeese State, SHSU traveled to Nacogdoches to square off with archrival Stephen F. Austin, who at the time was 4-0 in SLC action. It was a sluggish start for both teams offensively, but the Kats rallied late to overcome a 13-point deficit with eight minutes to go in the game en route to a 55-52 victory.
Two weeks later, SHSU beat then 8-0 Texas A&M-Corpus Chrsiti at the American Bank Center, and turned right around to win at East Division leading Northwestern State, snapping the Demons' six-game winning streak.
“We have picked up three really big road wins,” Marlin said. “SFA was 4-0, in first place and we came from 10 down to win at their place. Then in back-to-back games, we beat Corpus, who was 8-0, and Northwestern State, who was one of the hottest teams in the league. This group knows whoever plays the best is going to win, and that has helped us.”
UTSA is in last place in the conference at 2-12 under first year head coach Brooks Thompson and have been eliminated from the postseason.
But the Bearkats can't overlook the Roadrunners tonight because they would like nothing more than to close out their home schedule with a huge upset. And UTSA's only two conference wins have come in the Alamo City.
It's also senior night and bidding farewell at the Convocation Center will be point guard Kurt Attaway. Attaway has been one of UTSA's top players the past few years and is averaging 7.1 points and 4.2 assists a game this season.
“My first season at Sam Houston we had a tough year,” Marlin said. “But we won our final home game against San Antonio and they went to the NCAA tournament that year. It was a big boost for us heading into the next season. They are in the same boat, and they will be firing everything they have at us.”
Tonight's tipoff is scheduled for 7.
