Southern continues to rise up the MIAA conference rankings after a pair of victories in the past week, moving into the third slot, the highest of this season thus far.

Ahead of the Lions in the rankings are Lindenwood and Nebraska Kearney, two of the six losses for Southern up to this point.

But as the season has progressed, so have the Lions, and as they move into the stretch run, they feel confident they are playing their best basketball of the year.

“We are playing well,” said senior Lane Barlow, “but the right time to peak would be in March.”

Leggett & Platt has been a catalyst to the Lions’ success thus far as they boast a 7-1 record on home soil. The team sees a disparity in scoring that could tell the story, averaging over 83 points per game at home while only putting up 76 on average at home.

“Coach Bo stresses to us, in order to win the conference, you must take care of home court,” said Barlow, “and win some tough games on the road.”

The Lions rank third in scoring offense (79 points per game) in the MIAA, but the more important statistics show the premium effort on the opposite side of the ball.

Southern ranks third in field goal percentage (42.6 percent) and at the top of three-point field goal percentage (31.3 percent) as they continue to stifle their opponents, holding six of the last 10 to 65 points or under.