The annual Sun-Belt Conference Tournament, held in Pensacola, Florida, will be hosted from March 4-10 and will have a new tournament style.
The conference announced at the beginning of the season that the tournament would maintain its seven-day format but eliminate rest days.
“The new Sun Belt Basketball Championship brackets will reward our top seeds for their accomplishments during the regular season, ensuring they receive the advantage they’ve earned for their on-court performance,” Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill said in a press release from the Sun Belt Conference.
So what does this mean for Texas State?
Texas State (16-15, 9-9 Sun Belt Conference) finished the season by winning its last four of six games against Sun Belt opponents. The Bobcats ended the season on a good note by beating the reigning conference champion, James Madison.
“We’re just clicking at the right time. We got bodies, we got guys that are fully committed to what we got going on here and bought into the culture,” junior guard Coleton Benson said. “It’s that time of the year where anything is possible, and we [got to] be confident believers and believe in ourselves, believe in everything we got going on…I have a good feeling.”
Texas State will play as the seventh seed in the tournament. Its first game will be on Thursday against the winner of game four.
The Bobcats are ranked second in scoring offense in the conference, averaging 76.7 points per game. They are right behind the number one team in the conference, Arkansas State, which averages 79.4 points per game. The Bobcats are also number one in team field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free throws.
However, the team’s defense ranks 10th in the conference, giving up an average of 73.6 points per game. They’re also ranked 9th in rebounding, only averaging 36.8 compared to the number one team, Arkansas State, which averages 41.1.
Notable injuries to senior forward Tyrel Morgan and junior guard Mark Drone hindered the Bobcats in the new year, as Texas State went 2-5 in the seven games Drone and Morgan missed. However, those injuries didn’t stop Texas State head coach Terrence Johnson and his team from believing.
“What we’ve never done in this program is made an excuse about anything,” Johnson said. “We have a saying we live by: embrace all things that are difficult, and if you’re able to do that, the impossible becomes possible.”
The top four teams in the conference
The Arkansas State Red Wolves (22-9, 13-5 SBC) are the favorites to win the tournament, according to VSIN. Despite being viewed by many as the best overall team in the conference, they are the fourth seed. South Alabama, Troy and James Madison are the other teams with the same conference record as Arkansas State.
South Alabama is the first seed, James Madison is the second seed and Troy is the third seed.
The Arkansas State will be the first team to play out of the top four and will play the winner of game seven, which will be either Marshall or the winner of game five. The Red Wolves lead the conference in rebounding and scoring. They also swept the season series against the Bobcats with a scoring margin of 26.
Troy (20-10, 13-5 SBC) plays later the same day as Arkansas State and will play the winner of game eight, which is between App State and the winner between the Bobcats and game four. Troy ended the season as a top-three team in the conference, ranked second in the conference in rebounds, averaging 38.5 per game.
The South Alabama Jaguars (21-10, 13-5 SBC) are the first seed and have the second-highest odds to win the conference tournament. They play the game nine winner on Sunday, March 9, needing just one win to advance to the tournament championship. Despite being the top-seeded team in the bracket, the Jaguars have notable problems. Ranked second to last in rebounding and eighth in three-point percentage, this team has gone to overtime in both matchups against Texas State.
The reigning Sun Belt champion James Madison Dukes (20-11, 13-5 SBC) look to bounce back after a season-ending loss to Texas State. James Madison will face the game 10 winner on Sunday, March 9, needing a win to advance to the championship. The Dukes are a well-shooting team, ranked top five in every offensive category in the Sun Belt. An important factor to know is the team is ranked 12th in rebounding.
The middle teams in the conference
App State is the sixth seed and is more than likely to go against Texas State if the Bobcats beat the winner of game four. App State, which beat the Bobcats 72-61 at the beginning of the season, holds a 10-8 conference record, with its overall record being 17-13. The team is not an offensive identified team but rather a defensive, ranked the best in the conference.
No. 5 Marshall (19-12, 12-6 SBC) beat the Bobcats earlier in the year 77-71. The team is the hottest in the conference, winning its last four games.
Old Dominion, the 10th seed, will play the winner between No. 11 Louisiana and No. 14 Louisiana Monroe. If Old Dominion wins, it will be the Bobcats’ first opponent in the tournament. Old Dominion (12-19, 8-10 SBC) beat Texas State 75-64 on Feb. 5, outrebounding the Bobcats 45-27. Old Dominion is also the third-best rebounding team in the conference, sitting behind Troy and Arkansas State.
The Georgia Southern Eagles are likely to face No. 8 Georgia State if it beats the winner between No. 12 Southern Mississippi and No. 13 Coastal Carolina. The Eagles are the ninth seed and finished the season with a 16-15 overall record and an 8-10 record in conference play. They have the sixth-best offense in the conference and the fifth-best rebounding team.
Georgia State (13-18, 8-10 SBC) finished the season as one of the top offensive teams in the conference, ranked fourth in scoring offense and second in team field goal percentage. However, this team did lose its matchup to Texas State back in January, 94-80, where five Bobcats scored in double figures.
The last four teams
No. 11 Louisiana (11-20, 8-10 SBC), No. 12 Southern Miss (10-21, 5-13 SBC), No. 13 Coastal Carolina (10-21, 3-15 SBC) and No. 14 Louisiana-Monroe (7-24, 3-15 SBC) all rank in the bottom half in the conference for most statistics and are all on a combined losing streak of 15.
The first games of the Sun-Belt Tournament will be played on Tuesday. Game one between Southern Miss and Coastal Carolina will start at 5 p.m., and game two between Louisiana and Louisiana-Monroe will begin at 7:30 p.m. Texas State’s first game of the tournament will start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
All tournament games, except the final, will be available to stream on ESPN+. The championship game will be at 6 p.m. on Monday and will be available to stream on ESPN2.
