Southern sets NCAA record in rout
— -- Southern University coach Roman Banks said he did not realize his team jumped to an NCAA-record 44-0 lead Monday and told ESPN.com that he did not try to run up the score in a 116-12 victory over Champion Baptist College.
"We were preparing for league play and already had planned to change defenses throughout the game," Banks said. "It's not as if we pressed the entire game. We weren't trying to embarrass anyone."
Banks said he was hoping the Jaguars would regain their confidence heading into SWAC play after a 3-9 start to the season that included losses to Arizona, Florida, Baylor and Marquette.
"You're worried about the psyche of the team even though we played well against some of those teams," Banks said. "You can lose your confidence. This game was all about us. I was surprised at how well we played defensively, and it led to a bunch of transition baskets."
The Jaguars broke the all-divisions record held by Seton Hall, which scored the first 34 points against Kean College on Nov. 19, 1998.
Champion Baptist is located in Hot Springs, Ark., and is an independent member of the Association of Christian College Athletics. The Tigers finished 3-for-44 from the field and did not get in the scoring column until Kris Connor made two free throws with 5:10 left in the first half.
"I didn't even realize they hadn't scored until then," Banks said. "They made a free throw and then everyone starting clapping. I looked at the scoreboard and then asked my assistant if that was the right score. I had no idea. It surprised me."
Banks said that this was one of two "buy" games in which his school pays a couple of thousand dollars to bring a non-Division I opponent to its campus.
"Otherwise, we won't have any games at home in the nonconference," he said. "Almost every other game we play is on the road and is a money game, in which we bring in money to help support the program and the athletic department."
Banks said his program received money to play on the road against Florida, Arizona, Baylor, Marquette, Denver and Louisiana Tech. Southern also was paid for participating in the Global Sports Tournament.
Southern faced Champion Baptist in December 2012 as well, winning 90-36.
Southern opens league play Saturday at Prairie View A&M and will face league favorite Texas Southern in Houston on Jan. 6.
Champion Baptist College was founded in 2005 and, according to Southern athletic director William J. Broussard, "has played four other D-I [schools] in the region."
When asked why the Jaguars would schedule Champion Baptist, Broussard said Southern has trouble scheduling out-of-conference games against programs larger than itself.
Broussard added that money probably factored into Champion Baptist's decision to play the Jaguars.
"I assume it's a budget-balancer for them as well," he said.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.
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