LEVELLAND — Both ranked in the top 25 of the NJCAA national preseason poll, the South Plains College men's and women's basketball teams are slated to tip off the 2023 season on Wednesday, November 1 with a pair of home games at the Texan Dome.
Ranked 13th in the NJCAA women's basketball national poll, the Lady Texans will square off with Dodge City at 5:45 p.m. The Texans, who earned a No. 2 national ranking in the men's poll, will do battle with Victoria College at 7:30 p.m. Both games will stream live at spctexans.com, and admission to the games is free.
Posting a 20-10 record, including a 12-2 mark in conference play and a 9-2 record at home a year ago, the Lady Texans will look to get back to national premise again in 2023 after advancing to the Region V title game last season.
Head coach Ara Baten, who enters his fourth year at the helm of the women's basketball program, is looking forward to the challenges that await after bringing in 11 new players during the off-season.
"Every year we basically have a new team," Baten said. "We return four players from last season, and everyone else is new to the program. It presents a lot of different kinds of challenges, and you basically start over every year. I know it sounds cliché, but the idea is to get better every week and to continue to progress."
The Texan's squad fits a similar narrative, as head coach Hayden Sowers, who enters his second season leading South Plains, brought in 13 new players to Levelland. It's clear those who follow collegiate basketball have been impressed with what they have seen from the Texans in recent weeks during preseason scrimmages, as the Texans posted a top-two national ranking to begin the year.
"You learn a lot in year one, and you don't really know, what you don't know until you go through it," Sowers said. "Once I reflected on the season from last year, I was proud of our guys for winning 22 games, were ranked the entire year, and sent seven guys to the division one level. When you look back on that, I would deem that a successful year. We've brought in some guys this year who are older, are more mature, and know what it takes to win at this level."
Following Wednesday's contest, both squads will hit the road. The Texans will travel to Northern Oklahoma College for the Mitchell/Mullen's Elite 8, where they will take on Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa at 6 p.m. on Nov. 5, followed by a 5 p.m. matchup against Murray State on Nov. 6. The Texans will then travel to Plano for a two-game stint Nov. 10-11, before returning home for a three-game stretch beginning Nov. 17 against Hinds College at 7:30 p.m. at the Dome.
The Lady Texans will head west for the Eastern Arizona Classic, where they will open with Pima College at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, followed by a 4 p.m. tip against Trinidad State on Nov. 10. SPC will close out the road trip against Eastern Arizona College at 8 p.m. on Nov. 11. The Lady Texans will then head to Midland for the Midland College Classic Nov. 16-18, followed by a trip to Athens, Texas for the Budke/Serna Classic on the campus of Trinity Valley Community College Nov. 25-26.