Bearkats move up one notch in NCAA RPI rankings
2/8/2010 4:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Bearkats stand 16-5 for the year and are unbeaten 8-0 in Southland Conference play. Sam Houston also produced non-conference victories over Auburn, Oral Roberts and Rider and played No. 4 Kentucky to within 10 points at Rupp Arena.
Sam Houston ranks immediately behind Memphis and Oklahoma and ahead of high profile teams such as Arizona State, New Mexico State and North Carolina.
RPI stands for "Rating Percentage Index" and is an important figure used for selection to the NCAA tournament since it reflects a team's overall record and strength of schedule.
Sam Houston's highest final season RPI in its 23 years at the NCAA Division I level was No. 91 in 2003, the year the Bearkats last won the Southland Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA event.
With 16 victories and eight more regular season games to play, Sam Houston is zeroing in on its fourth 20-victory season in the last five years.
Out of the 317 teams in NCAA Division I men's basketball, only 66 universities have posted 20 or more wins three of the last four years. With an 84-39 record in the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons, Sam Houston owns the 36th best winning percentage among those 66 squads.
"Right now, our focus is on our next opponent Nicholls State," Sam Houston head coach Bob Marlin said. "We've experienced some success this year, but we still have a long road ahead of us. This team consists of a great group of guys who work hard, are getting better defensively and have good chemistry. They're a great group to coach."
Also announced Monday were the latest NCAA team and individual statistics rankings.
Sam Houston State leads Division I men's basketball in assists per game (20.6), is second in assist/turnover ratio (1.62) and 14th in three-point field goals per game (8.5).
Corey Allmond, Sam Houston's top scorer, stands No. 14 nationally in three point field goals per game (3.1) and 26th in three-point field goal percentage (.414). Josten Crow stands No. 4 in individual assist/turnover ratio (3.2).
Sam Houston travels to play Nicholls at Thibodaux, LA, on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., then will play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday at 7 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum. Both games will be broadcast live on KSAM 101.7 FM.
Following the regular season, the top eight teams meet at Merrell Center in Katy for the annual Southland Conference tournament March 10-13 to decide the league's NCAA playoff representative. For ticket information about the tournament see the Bearkats' Southland Conference Classic post-season tournament link.
Tickets for all men's basketball home games are on sale now on-line at www.gobearkats.com . Fans also may purchase tickets at the Sam Houston athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
