College basketball countdown: No. 53 Stephen F. Austin
THE FIRST WORD: Three hours southeast of Dallas is the city of Nacogdoches. Folks there love their college basketball. And Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood promises fair-weather fans are few and far in between.
So when the Lumberjacks were in the midst of a "magical" season in 2013-14 — reeling off a 29-game winning streak that started in November and ended in the NCAA tournament's third round following a stunning upset of Virginia Commonwealth that included a memorable four-point play to force overtime — Underwood said there was no bandwagoning involved.
"The culture has always been there. The program has always been a sleeping giant," said Underwood, who took over the program last season. "We just had to wake it."
Now, Underwood isn't simply looking for an encore. Forget One Hit Wonders. The Lumberjacks are trying to become a consistent Cinderella.
Stephen F. Austin returns three starters from last year's roster and looks to carry over the momentum in 2014-15 as the heavy favorite to win the Southland.
"It's hard to put a value on the experience and confidence we created last year," Underwood said. "We always try to play expecting to win. But now we've done it on a national stage. There's definitely some confidence, some swagger that comes from that."
2013-14 IN REVIEW: 32-3 overall, 18-0 in Southland (regular-season champs), Southland Conference Tournament champions, lost in third round of NCAA tournament to UCLA.
PATH TO THE DANCE: Southland auto-bid. Northwestern State, Sam Houston State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will be top challengers.
PROJECTED TOURNEY SEED: No. 13.
STAR WATCH: Jacob Parker (14.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg). Expect the versatile 6-6 forward to take on an even bigger role in 2014-15. The Lumberjacks will have to make up for the loss of Desmond Haymon, who led the team with 14.5 points a game and hit 61 three-pointers. Parker is comfortable scoring inside and out, and Underwood believes he's one of the elite offensive players in the country. He'll be the primary focus on every opponent's scouting report.
Thomas Walkup (13.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg), like Parker, is multidimensional. The 6-4 junior guard came on strong last season and was the MVP of the conference tournament. Underwood believes he has the potential to become the best player in the Southland and calls the forward a "matchup nightmare."
X-FACTOR: Trey Pinkney (3.5 apg). For a guy who averaged just three points a game, Pinkney was extremely important to the Lumberjacks' success, and that'll be the case again.The 5-9 junior guard is a tenacious defender and initiates the offense. And he doesn't turn it over. With an improved jump shot, he's due for a big year.
KEY NEWCOMER: Demetrious Floyd (Chipola College), a 5-11 junior.
TEAM STRENGTH/WEAKNESS: A big question will be how to fill the void of two starters. Underwood expects 6-4 senior Connor Brooks and 6-3 sophomore Dallas Cameron to take huge strides, and Tanner Clayton is a 6-9 senior who's likely to start. Last season, SFA had a great rebounding margin (4.8, 33rd nationally) despite a significant lack of size. They'll need to replicate that to be successful. Underwood's offense is old school with little ball screening and based on ball movement and ball reversal. There's more depth on the roster so look for a more up-tempo style.
FUN FACT: Founded as a teachers' college in 1923, the university was named after one of Texas' founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Go figure.
BASICS: Stephen F. Austin is in Nacogdoches, Texas, and the Lumberjacks play their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum, which opened in 1974 and seats 7,203.
About this post: Every week day for the next three months, one of the 68 teams in USA TODAY Sports' projected field will be dissected. In November, the final bracket will be revealed.