With the first half of the Southland Conference basketball season finished, the race for the regular season title is heating up. To prove my point, I need not look any further than the SLC standings. Unlike the past several years, when one or two teams have been sitting atop the standings alone, this year has brought with it a lot of parity among participating teams.

Think about this; at the midway point of the season four teams have conference marks that include just three losses. Of those four teams, three have overall records of .500 or better.

Besides these four teams, which include McNeese State (first place), Nicholls (tied for second), Texas-San Antonio (tied for second) and Northwestern State (third place), five other teams are within two games of this three-game loss mark.

What does this say for the state of the conference? It says the conference is evenly matched and competitive.

This should make for an interesting stretch run, not only in determining which team wins the conference crown, but also which eight teams make it to the conference tournament March 6-10.

What makes this conference race even more interesting is that teams that have not known success in the past have started to make great strides, while some of the typically strong teams of the past few years have taken several steps backwards.

Examples of each extreme include Southeastern Louisiana, who had won three straight games versus the league’s top teams before falling to Lamar University Monday night, and the University of Louisiana at Monroe, who is currently sitting in last place with a conference mark of 2-8.

Last year, SLU struggled while UL-Monroe finished the conference season in first place. One thing is for sure and that is this — when facing a conference opponent, no team can take any other team for granted, especially coming down the homestretch.

“The whole season and league is going to come down to this — who will respond best to dropping a game, coming back and playing good in their next game,” Colonel coach Rickey Broussard said.

Although the Colonels are sitting in a good position right now, senior forward Art Haralson said he knows the next couple of weeks will decide everything.

“Its whoever wants it (conference title),” Haralson said. “It’s up for grabs. On any night, you never know what team is going to come out and play harder than you. Its important for us to just come out and take it one game at time and play as hard as we can.”