Southeastern opens its 2005-06 men's basketball season tonight when it hosts Texas Wesleyan in a 7 p.m. contest at the University Center.

The can will be carried on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net. Live statistics will also be available.

YARBROUGH ERA BEGINS AS LIONS HOST RAMS
Defending Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana opens its 2005-06 schedule tonight when it plays host to Texas Wesleyan in the debut of new Lions' head coach Jim Yarbrough.

Southeastern, which finished 24-9 last season and claimed its second consecutive SLC regular-season title, captured the O'Reilly Auto Parts/Southland Conference Championship with a win over top-seeded Northwestern State.

The Lions made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championships where they dropped a 63-50 decision to Oklahoma State in the first round of the Chicago Regional at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.

HEAD COACH JIM YARBROUGH
Overall Record: 97-42 (6th season)
Jim Yarbrough begins his first season as head coach at Southeastern after a successful five-year run at Division II Valdosta State, where he led the Blazers to a 97-42 record with a pair of NCAA postseason appearances. Prior to arriving at VSU, Yarbrough spent six seasons as an assistant coach at the College of Charleston under legendary mentor John Kresse and helped the Cougars to six conference championships and five berths in the postseason (three NCAA tournaments and two NIT's).

Named Southeastern's 11th head coach on June 23, 2005, Yarbrough brings a wealth of defensive intensity to the table as his Blazer squads were consistently ranked in the final national statistics in the top-five in scoring defense during his tenure.

A 1987 graduate of Florida State University, Yarbrough began his coaching career at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., before becoming an assistant for one season under Don Hogan at the University of West Florida.

LIONS ON THE DEFENSIVE
While first-year Southeastern head coach Jim Yarbrough brings a defensive-minded approach to the court, he won't have to do a lot of convincing to his new team in that defense wins championships. In recording a school-record 24 games in 2004-05, Southeastern finished fourth in the nation in scoring defense allowing 55.8 points per game and setting a Southland Conference record for the lowest scoring defensive average.

IN THE SOUTHLAND POLLS
Fresh off winning the last two Southland Conference regular-season championships, Southeastern has been picked to finish third in the 2005-06 SLC Preseason Polls. Northwestern State and Lamar were picked to finish 1-2 by the league's coaches and sports information directors with the Lions next. The third-place ranking is Southeastern's highest in the preseason since joining the league in 1997-98. The past two seasons, Southeastern has been picked to finish ninth (2003-04) and fifth (2004-05).

WOODS ON PRESEASON TEAM
After being selected as the Southland Conference Newcomer-of-the-Year, Ricky Woods is one of five players on the 2005-06 SLC Preseason All-Conference team.

Woods, who finished second in the league in scoring last season, was the third Lion in as many seasons named to the team joining Amir Abdur-Rahim (2003-04) and Nate Lofton (2004-05).

SOUTHEASTERN … LOUISIANA'S BEST
From 2003-05, Southeastern sported the best record of all Division I schools in the state of Louisiana, recording 44 wins. Below is the total number of wins by each Division I school since the start of the 2003-04 season.

School Total Wins
Southeastern 44
Louisiana-Lafayette 40
LSU 38
Northwestern State 32
New Orleans 30
Louisiana Tech 29
Southern 26
Grambling 25
McNeese State 24
Tulane 21
Louisiana-Monroe 20
Centenary 19
Nicholls State 12

SETTING BEST TWO-YEAR MARK
Included in that span was a school-record 24 wins in 2004-05 along with 20 wins in 2003-04—the Lions' first 20-win season since moving to Division I in 1980-81. Posting its best two-year record since 2003-04, Southeastern eclipsed the 36 wins from 1972-74.

WOODS JOINS THE "500 CLUB"
Ricky Woods became the ninth player in school history to record 500 points in a season when he scored 19 against Texas State on March 8, 2005 in the first round of the O'Reilly Auto Parts/Southland Conference Tournament. The 6-6 junior finished the season with 566 points which was the third-highest total scored in a season in school history.

WALTZ ACROSS TEXAS
For the first time since joining the Southland Conference in 1997-98, Southeastern went undefeated against its conference rivals from the state of Texas. The Lions posted a 12-0 record against its Lone Star rivals while going 13-1 overall with a win over Wiley College and a loss at Houston.

"THIS IS OUR HOUSE"
Much of Southeastern's success the past two seasons has benefited from a stout defense and a definite homecourt advantage. Since 2003-04, Southeastern has won 26 of its last 28 games in the friendly confines of the University Center, including a school-record 23-game win streak. The Lions posted consecutive 13-1 marks at home with the lone loss during the regular-season coming on Feb. 12, 2005 in a last-second 71-69 loss to McNeese State. During its 23-game win streak, Southeastern won its games by an average of 13.9 points and posted five wins by five points or less.

LATELY A "SWEET NOVEMBER"
Starting its season on Nov. 19 for the second straight year and fifth time (since recorded dates were updated) in school history, Southeastern posted its best November record last season (4-1) since joining the Southland Conference in 1997-98. Since joining the SLC, the Lions have gone 13-14 in the first month of the season and are 5-3 in the last two years. When starting on the 19th, Southeastern is 3-1 having won its last two games (both on the road — vs. Henderson State and at Centenary).

THE SERIES VERSUS TEXAS WESLEYAN
Southeastern has played Texas Wesleyan, an NAIA member of the Red River Conference, once on the hardwood with the Lions securing a 66-61 win in the opener 1988 in the University Center. While the Lions would like to remain unbeaten against the Rams, Southeastern would like to alter history a bit as it would drop its next 16 games under Leo McClure and finish 3-24 overall.

SOUTHEASTERN AND OPENERS
Since the beginning of the Modern Era in 1947-48, Southeastern has posted a 29-28 record in season-opening games. Tonight's game with Texas Wesleyan marks the second time in school history Southeastern has opened with the Rams. In the past six years, Southeastern has won five openers with its only defeat an 80-58 setback at Vanderbilt in the 2002-03 season opener.

OPENING IS BETTER AT HOME
While Southeastern is just above the .500 mark in season openers, it holds a solid advantage when opening the season on its home floor. Since 1947-48, Southeastern has posted a 44-13 mark, including two straight and 15 of its last 17. The Lions' last loss in their home opener was in 2002 in an 87-81 loss to Troy — Southeastern's next opponent on the 2005-06 schedule.

COACH "Y" TO BREAK TIE?
When he officially makes his Southeastern head coaching debut tonight, Jim Yarbrough looks to snap a tie among rookie Lion coaches and their opening game. In games where a Southeastern coach is making his debut, the Lions are 5-5 overall and have won two of their last three (Norm Picou, 1992-93; Billy Kennedy, 1999-2000).

LION, RAM TIES THAT BIND
While both schools will meet for just the second time tonight, there are plenty of ties between Southeastern (NCAA Division I) and Texas Wesleyan (NAIA). Beginning on the bench, Texas Wesleyan is led by former Lion assistant Terry Waldrop, who spent five seasons on John Lyles' staff and was part of the 1995-96 squad that captured the Trans America Athletic Conference West Division title. Another former Lion, Brennen Shingleton, is an assistant for the Rams, while a former player — Wesley Haynes of Hammond — was Texas Wesleyan's second-leading scorer in 2003-04. Southeastern's Athletic Department also ties to the Fort Worth school as head tennis coach Jason Hayes, who guided the Southeastern women's team to the 2005 Southland Conference championship and berth in the NCAA Championships, spent four seasons at the school and built the Rams into a national power.

BACK ON THE BENCH
After concluding a stellar three-year career, in which he finished seventh in school history in scoring, Amir Abdur-Rahim returns to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant coach. Abdur-Rahim, a three-time All-Southland Conference performer, finished with 1,282 points and was second in both 3-pointers attempted (597) and 3-pointers made (194). The 2004 Southeastern graduate, and younger brother of Sacramento Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, is currently pursuing his MBA from Southeastern.