Top 10 things to know about Sam Houston basketball
3/16/2010 5:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ABOUT SAM HOUSTON BASKETBALL
10. The Bearkats are making their second appearance in the NCAA "Big Dance" Thursday afternoon in New Orleans against South Region No. 3 seed Baylor
9. "Bearkats" is spelled with a "k" because the Bearkat in question is a mythical creature from a saying General Sam Houston used to inspire the Texas troops, telling them to be "tough as a Bearkat!"
8. Sam Houston's most famous alum Dan Rather, who tried out for the Bearkat football team but didn't make it, also was a big basketball fan of the school's early winning teams in the school's NAIA days.
7. Since moving up to the NCAA Division I level in 1986-87, Sam Houston had only one season with double digit victories until Bob Marlin became Kats' head coach in 1998-99. During the 12 years since Marlin's hiring, Sam Houston ranks as the "winningest" program in the league with a 225-130 record, three conference regular season titles and two NCAA appearances.
6. Sam Houston head coach Bob Marlin, who did not play college basketball but was a student assistant at Mississippi State, is one of only two Southland Conference coaches with more than 200 career victories in the league. Mike Vining, the only coach who ranks ahead of Marlin, gave the Bearkats' head coach his first job as a graduate assistant at Northeast Louisiana.
5. Sam Houston has won its last two meetings with its NCAA first round opponent Baylor (1996 and 2000). The 2000 win came during head coach Bob Marlin's second year at Sam Houston when he led the Bearkats to their first of three league regular season titles.
4. Sam Houston leads NCAA Division I men's basketball in assists (8.8 per game) and stands 5th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.52), 8th in 3-pointers per game (8.8) and 10th in scoring offense (79.9). The Bearkats' Corey Allmond set a Rupp Arena record with 11 treys against Kentucky earlier this year.
3. Sam Houston is one of only 52 NCAA Division I men's basketball programs that have produced 20-plus victory seasons four of the past five years.
2. Since Bob Marlin became Sam Houston head coach in 1998-99, the Bearkats have produced a 71-47 record against non-Southland Conference competition. The Bearkats have played - and defeated - top teams such as Missouri, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Auburn, Houston, New Mexico State, Fresno State, Oral Roberts, Saint Louis and the team the Kats play Thursday in the NCAA, Baylor.
1. Sam Houston ranks No. 2 among all NCAA Division I men's basketball programs total victories in the 21st century. Only the Texas Longhorns (275) have a total higher than the Bearkats' 215 wins.
Watch Sam Houston take on Baylor on CBS-TV Thursday (game time approximately 1:55 p.m. Central) or listen live on www.gobearkats.com.
