ESPN Men's Basketball

Ronnie Arrow and the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi basketball team have proven to be a formidable foe for teams from college basketball's most elite conferences.

Since the Islanders joined Division I seven years ago, Arrow has guided them to a 108-84 record that has included wins over power-conference teams such as Florida State, Baylor, TCU and South Florida.

However, when Arrow and his staff recruited players they did so with a stigma attached to their program.

"It used to be that every time that we go into a home to recruit, there would be a joke about when they ask if we are going to get into a conference," Arrow said. "Would it be at the beginning or the end of the visit?"

Life as an independent was tough for the Islanders. They had to play a grueling road schedule that often took them more than a thousand miles away from home. And, as an unaffiliated team, TAMU-CC's chances of making the postseason were slim, at best.

"People just can't imagine what it is like being an independent in Division I athletics," he said.

On July 1, Arrow and the Islanders took a major step toward reaching postseason play when they officially joined the Southland Conference, which annually is given an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"For the past two years we thought we had a chance to get into the NIT, winning 20 games," Arrow said. "I guess they didn't think our RPI was high enough. This is a direct means to be able to get into one of those [tournaments] every year."

Geographically, the Southland seems like a perfect fit for the Islanders. Seven of the league's 12 teams are located in Texas, which could create some natural rivalries.

"All of the teams are in an area that we can get to in a hurry or short plane rides," Arrow said. "We think the main thing is we can have some good rivalries that will very much help attendance."

The timing couldn't be better to join the Southland. Northwestern State's first round upset over third-seeded Iowa gave the league its first tournament victory -- excluding the "opening-round" game -- since 1985.

"It was very important for our conference, and hopefully can lead to more wins and get a better seed," Sam Houston State coach Bob Marlin said.

TAMU-CC hardly will be the only new blood in the Southland. The league is in the midst of a complete metamorphosis.

Northwestern State will lose most of its 2005 squad, which went 15-1 in conference. Gone from Lamar is coaching legend Billy Tubbs, one of five Southland head coaches to leave his position this offseason. Louisiana-Monroe's defection for the Sun Belt opened up a spot for Central Arkansas. UCA will enter its first season in Division I athletics in a transition period and will not be eligible for postseason play.

The massive migration into and out of the conference means it could be ripe for the picking, as Arrow and the Islanders eye their first legit shot at postseason play.

"I think we'll be very competitive," Arrow said. "We only had one senior and we feel like with the people we have coming back, we have a good chance to be very competitive the first year."

The Islanders will be anchored by big men Chris Daniels and Cedric Smith. Last season, Daniels, a seven-foot sophomore, averaged 15 points and seven rebounds per a game en route to being named Independent player of the year. Smith, a bruising power forward, was second in the country in field goal percentage (66.2).

"Anytime you can have those guys coming back with size and experience, it is a major plus for you," Arrow said.

Arrow expects to be picked to finish in the top four in the coaches' preseason poll. Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin likely will be the preseason favorites.

Marlin said that SHSU and TAMU-CC will be highly touted in the preseason because of their experienced rosters.

"They have got a senior team. … From that standpoint, they are like us," he said. "Coaches always base their predictions on returning players."

SHSU returns four starters from a team that finished second in the league in 2005-2006. Last season the Bearkats were 12-2 in games decided by six points or less.

"We had a smart team and a tough team when it came down to the last two minutes of each game," Marlin said.

In their nonconference schedule, the Islanders will once again take on several heavy hitters. This season, the slate includes Oklahoma State, Mississippi State and UNLV.

"Every year, we played as good a schedule as we could," he said. "We upped it this year being in a conference. We wanted to have a tough schedule to be ready [for conference play.]"

While joining a conference is a great opportunity for the Islanders, the players on TAMU-CC's current roster have never experienced the pressures of playing a conference schedule. For teams in the Southland, a loss early in the conference schedule can be the difference between a bid to play in the NIT and staying home.

"I coached at Alabama and there you can lose a game in January and still get some sleep because you can get an at-large bid," Marlin said. "[In the Southland], you've gotta win. Every game is critical."

The added pressure of a conference schedule is one Arrow and his players gladly will take on.

"We have a direct avenue to get to a postseason tourney," he said. "In the past, we had to go directly by schedule. The respect for our conference and who we play in preseason will help our RPI."

After shedding the independent label, Arrow has dreams of elevating TAMU-CC's program to the level of other high-profile mid-majors.

"We want to get out there as quickly as we can and establish this as a very good mid-major program," Arrow said. To do that, kids want to play on TV, they want to be on a good schedule and be in a good conference. We got that now."

Good sign: 2005-2006 was the second straight year six teams from the Southland finished with an overall winning percentage of .500 or better. Before it happened in 2004-2005, the league hadn't had six teams finish above .500 since 1991-1992.

Red flag: Of the 10 teams remaining from last year's version of the Southland, five made a coaching change. Four of those coaches were either fired or resigned.

Worth watching: Northwestern State didn't lose on its home court in 2005-2006. After losing seven seniors from last year's squad, it will be interesting to see how long the streak, which currently sits at 11 games, will last.

Central Arkansas: Although the Bears won't be eligible for postseason play next season, they will still get a few games against top-notch opponents. From Nov. 17-19, the Bears will play UConn, Ole Miss and Fairfield as part of the Hispanic College Fund Classic in the 16,000-seat Hartford Civic Center.

Lamar: Freshman Franklin Reed must love basketball. The 6-foot-8, 280-pound Reed turned down scholarship offers to play tight end at Missouri, Texas, Miami (FL) and New Mexico. As a senior at Coldspring (Texas) High School, Reed averaged 21 points, 14 rebounds and 12 blocks and led the team to its best season in school history.

McNeese State: The athletic department has remained silent on the late-July firing of head basketball coach Tic Price. If the department looks to promote from within, they will be hiring an untested commodity, as all three of Price's assistants have fewer than seven years of coaching experience.

Nicholls State Although the Colonels won only nine games last season, it was their highest victory total since 2000-2001.The team's win total could climb again this season with the addition of redshirt freshman center Mitch Boyce.

Northwestern State: Although the Demons lost seven seniors off last year's squad, they will receive a boost from the return of Jermaine Spencer. Opposing coaches said that Spencer, a redshirt senior, was the best post player on last season's team.

Sam Houston State: If forward Ryan Bright hopes to rebound from a disappointing sophomore campaign, he will have to improve his poor numbers at the free throw line. Bright, the conference freshman of the year in 2004-2005, made just 33 percent of his free throw attempts last year. Bright wasn't the only Bearkat who struggled from the charity stripe; the team made only 61 percent of its free throws.

SE Louisiana: Juco transfer Kevyn Green will be an offensive weapon. Green, who played a year at Nevada before enrolling at Lamar (Colo.) Community College, could pick up the bulk of the scoring load left behind by outgoing conference player of the year Ricky Woods.

Stephen F. Austin:In 2005-2006, Stephen F. Austin might have been the surprise team in the Southland conference. The strong post play of junior college transfer Antuane Miller (13 points, 5 rebounds) greatly helped the Lumberjacks last year. Miller will need to continue to develop if the SFA hopes to win the conference this season.

Texas A&M-CC: The Islanders will look to freshman Brandon Roberson to replace the outside shooting void created by the departure of Aaron White. Roberson was the top prep 3-point shooter in Texas last year.

Texas-Arlington: UTA lost its top three scorers from last year's squad. It might be now or never for juniors Myles Guidry, Jermaine Griffin and Larry Posey. The three were among the top 30 prep players in Texas in 2004, but none of them have averaged double-digits in scoring in their time at Arlington.

Texas-San Antonio Former Oklahoma State standout and first-year UTSA coach Brooks Thompson won't be the only familiar face on the Road Runners coaching staff this season. Assistant coach Jay Spoonhour, the son of legendary Saint Louis and UNLV head coach Charlie Spoonhour, has been in the business for 11 years and was a finalist for the job at Southeast Missouri this spring. As UNLV's interim head coach in 2004, Spoonhour guided the Rebels to the Mountain West title game.

Texas State: The addition of 6-5 juco forward Brian Hill gives the Bobcats a go-to option on the offensive end. Hill, an NJCAA All-American, averaged 25 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in his sophomore year at Hamilton College.

Winning tournament games in consecutive years certainly will be difficult for the Southland, especially if our Bracketologist is correct. In his first look at the 2007 NCAA Tournament bracket, Joe Lunardi projects Stephen F. Austin to earn the league's automatic berth and get a 16-seed.

2007 Bracketology

2004-05 Standings
Team	League record	Overall record
Northwestern St.*	15-1	26-8
Sam Houston St.	11-5	22-9
SE Louisiana	10-6	16-12
Stephen F. Austin	9-7	17-12
Lamar	9-7	17-14
McNeese State	9-7	17-14
UT-Arlington	7-9	14-16
UT-San Antonio	6-10	11-17
Louisiana Monroe	6-10	10-18
Nicholls State	5-11	9-18
Texas State	1-15	3-24

* -- NCAA Tournament
Note: Louisiana-Monroe has left the conference for the Sun Belt.

Expected leading returning scorers
Player (Team)	2004-05 PPG
Stefan Blaszczynski (Nicholls St.)Alan Daniels (Lamar)	16.4
Josh Alexander (SFA)	14.2
Dwight Boatner (McNeese St.)	13.6
Antuane Miller (SFA)	13.4
Adonis Gray (Nicholls St.)	12.6

Brendan Murphy is a college sports intern at ESPN.com.