SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL February 24, 2014 Contact: John McElwain Office: Cell:

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1 SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL February 24, 2014 Contact: John McElwain (mcelwain@sunbeltsports.org) Office: Cell: Sun Belt Conference Standings Conference Overall TEAM W L PCT L10 STREAK PF PA W L PCT L10 STREAK PF PA Georgia State W W WKU W W Arkansas State W W UL Lafayette L L UT Arlington W W UALR L L UL Monroe L L Troy L L Texas State L L South Alabama W W Player of the Week MANNY ATKINS, Georgia State Senior Forward Atkins led the Panthers to a perfect 3-0 week, hitting a gamewinning 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds to play on Saturday night against UL Lafayette. He also just missed a double-double by one rebound on Thursday against UL Monroe. For the week, Atkins averaged 16.0 points and 7.7 rebounds, shooting 14-of-24 (58.3%) from the floor, 9-of-15 (60.0%) from 3-point range and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. He added six assists, two blocks and three steals on the week. He opened the week with 15 points and seven rebounds against Texas State. On Thursday, he scored 21 points and added nine rebounds along with a pair of steals. He closed the week with 12 points and seven rebounds, but it was the last basket, a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds to play that clinched the win against UL-L and got the Panthers within one win of clinching at least a share of the Sun Belt regular season championship. Upcoming Schedule February 25 Lyon at Arkansas State February 27 * South Alabama at UL Monroe * WKU at Texas State * UALR at Troy * Georgia State at UT Arlington 7:30 PM March 1 * Troy at UL Monroe 4:00 PM * Georgia State at Texas State 4:30 PM * Arkansas State at UALR * WKU at UT Arlington 7:30 PM March 2 * South Alabama at UL Lafayette 3:00 PM (Sun Belt Network) Around the Sun Belt Conference Just two weeks of conference play remain before the 2014 edition of the Sun Belt Men s Basketball Championship at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. With that, teams can begin clinching seeds and spots in the tournament as soon as this week. Georgia State, which has led the league standings all season long, is only one win away from capturing no worse than a share of the Sun Belt regular season championship. The Panthers can assure themselves a share of the title Thursday with a win against UT Arlington and a WKU loss to Texas State. GSU can claim the title outright regardless of other results around the league if the Panthers win both of their games this week. While WKU remains in the title hunt, the Hilltoppers are also fighting for one of two double-byes into the league championship semifinals. The picture there is not clear-cut though as both Arkansas State and UL Lafayette are in the chase for the double-byes as Recent Results February 17 * Georgia State 68, Texas State 41 7:30 PM February 20 * Georgia State 75, UL Monroe 60 6:00 PM * South Alabama 67, Texas State 66 (OT) * Arkansas State 83, UT Arlington 60 * UL Lafayette 78, Troy 63 February 22 * UT Arlington 75, UALR 71 * WKU 72, UL Monroe 63 * Arkansas State 73, Texas State 68 * South Alabama 86, Troy 78 * Georgia State 80, UL Lafayette 77 7:30 PM (Sun Belt Network) well as single bye into the championship quarterfinals. The fight for the byes in the tournament will make much of the headlines around the last couple of weeks of the season given the close race there. Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB

2 Preseason All-Conference First Team R.J. Hunter (Georgia State, So., G) Shawn Long (UL Lafayette, So., F) Elfrid Payton (UL Lafayette, Jr., G) Augustine Rubit (South Alabama, Sr., F) T.J. Price (WKU, Jr., G) Second Team Will Neighbour (UALR, Sr., F) Brandon Reed (Arkansas State, Sr., G) Ryan Harrow (Georgia State, r-jr., G) Joel Wright (Texas State, Sr., F) George Fant (WKU, Jr., F) Third Team Ed Townsel (Arkansas State, Sr., G) Jayon James (UL Monroe, Sr., F) Mychal Ammons (South Alabama, Jr., F) Brandon Edwards (UT Arlington, Sr., F) Hunter Williams (Troy, Sr., G) * Preseason Player of the Year Players of the Week November Shawn Long (UL Lafayette, So., F) Ryan Harrow (Georgia State, r-jr., G) Shawn Long (UL Lafayette, So., F) December 3... Melvin Johnson III (Arkansas State, Sr., G) Brandon Harris (WKU, Sr., G) Augustine Rubit (South Alabama, Sr., F) January 6...R.J. Hunter (Georgia State, So., G) 13...Tevin Calhoun (Troy, Sr., F) 20...R.J. Hunter (Georgia State, So., G) 27...Reger Dowell (UT Arlington, Sr., G) 2014 MEN S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE Thursday, March 13 (Opening Round) G1: No. 8 vs. No. 5 6:00 p.m. (SBN) G2: No. 7 vs. No. 6 8:30 p.m. (SBN) Friday, March 14 (Quarterfinals) G3: Winner G1 vs. No. 4 6:00 p.m. (SBN) G4: Winner G2 vs. No. 3 8:30 p.m. (SBN) Saturday, March 15 (Semifinals) G5: Winner G3 vs. No. 1 2:00 p.m. (SBN) G6: Winner G4 vs. No. 2 4:30 p.m. (SBN) Sunday, March 16 (Championship Game) G7: Winner G5 vs. Winner G6 12:00 p.m. (ESPN2) Top (8) seeds from regular-season will advance to the SBC Championship. All times Central and subject to change. SBN = Sun Belt Network SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL NEWS & NOTES Preseason Poll Associated Press Top 25 As voted upon byt the league s 10 head coaches Pl. Team (First-place votes) Points 1. Western Kentucky (5) 2. South Alabama (2) 3. Arkansas State T-4. Georgia State (2) T-4. UL Lafayette (1) 6. UALR UT Arlington Texas State Troy UL Monroe February 3... Will Neighbour (UALR, Sr., F) Shawn Long (UL Lafayette, So., F) 17...Elfird Payton (UL Lafayette, Jr. G) 24...Manny Atkins (Georgia State, Sr., F) March NEW ORLEANS LAKEFRONT ARENA Lakefront Arena has set the standard in the metro-new Orleans area in providing a venue for sports and concerts. Events are intimately presented whether the performance is in 3000, or anything in between. Because of the excellent acoustics and the intimacy of design, the Arena has maintained the reputation that there is no bad seat in the house. RK TEAM RECORD PTS 1 Florida (24) Wichita State (8) Arizona Louisville Syracuse Kansas Duke Saint Louis Villanova Creighton Virginia Cincinnati San Diego State Wisconsin Kentucky Michigan Iowa State Michigan State Iowa Ohio State North Carolina Memphis Texas Southern Methodist Oklahoma Others receiving votes: onnecticut 47, New Mexico 45, UCLA 15, Kansas State 9, Massachusetts 9, Stephen F. Austin 5, Pittsburgh 4, Gonzaga 3, Middle Tennessee 1, Baylor 1, Nebraska 1, Green Bay Sun Belt Conference Men s Basketball Championship New Orleans Lakefront Arena New Orleans, Louisiana March 13-16, 2014 TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS YEAR WINNER RUNNER-UP LOCATION 1977 Charlotte New Orleans Charlotte, N.C New Orleans South Alabama Charlotte, N.C Jacksonville USF Charlotte, N.C VCU UAB Charlotte, N.C VCU UAB Jacksonville, Fla UAB VCU Birmingham, Ala UAB USF Birmingham, Ala UAB ODU Birmingham, Ala VCU ODU Hampton, Va Jacksonville UAB Birmingham, Ala UAB WKU Bowling Green, Ky Charlotte VCU Richmond, Va South Alabama Jacksonville Charlotte, N.C USF Charlotte Birmingham, Ala South Alabama ODU Mobile, Ala UL Lafayette Louisiana Tech Biloxi, Miss WKU New Orleans Biloxi, Miss UL Lafayette WKU Bowling Green, Ky WKU UALR Little Rock, Ark New Orleans UALR Little Rock, Ark South Alabama Louisiana Tech Little Rock, Ark South Alabama UL Lafayette Lafayette, La Arkansas State WKU Lafayette, La UL Lafayette South Alabama Little Rock, Ark WKU South Alabama Mobile, Ala WKU UL Lafayette New Orleans, La WKU Middle Tennessee Bowling Green, Ky *UL Lafayette New Orleans Bowling Green, Ky *UL Lafayette Denver Denton, Texas 2006 South Alabama WKU Murfreesboro, Tenn North Texas Arkansas State Lafayette, La WKU Middle Tennessee Mobile, Ala WKU South Alabama Hot Springs, Ark North Texas Troy Hot Springs, Ark UALR North Texas Hot Springs, Ark WKU North Texas Hot Springs, Ark WKU FIU Hot Springs, Ark. * Title vacated due to NCAA sanctions Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB

3 Sun Belt Head Coaches UALR Head Coach...Steve Shields Alma Mater, Year...Baylor, 1988 SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL NEWS & NOTES UL Monroe Head Coach... Keith Richard Alma Mater, Year...ULM, 1982 Troy Head Coach... Phil Cunningham Alma Mater, Year...Campbellsville, 1990 Arkansas State Head Coach...John Brady Alma Mater, Year... Belhaven, 1976 South Alabama Head Coach...Matthew Graves Alma Mater, Year... Butler, 1998 WKU Head Coach... Ray Harper Alma Mater, Year... Kentucky Wesleyan, 1985 Georgia State Head Coach... Ron Hunter Alma Mater, Year...Miami (OH), 1986 UT Arlington Head Coach...Scott Cross Alma Mater, Year...UT Arlington, 1988 UL Lafayette Head Coach... Bob Marlin Alma Mater, Year...Mississippi State, 1981 Texas State Head Coach...Danny Kaspar Alma Mater, Year... North Texas, 1978 Sun Belt SID Contacts UALR... Patrick Newton Office Cell pcnewton@ualr.edu Arkansas State... Joe Gorby Office Cell jgorby@astate.edu Georgia State... Mike Holmes Office Cell rholmes@gsu.edu UL Lafayette...Brian McCann Office Cell bjm5269@louisiana.edu UL Monroe... Robbie Kleinmuntz Office Cell kleinmuntz@ulm.edu South Alabama... Matt Horne Office Cell mhorne@southalabama.edu UT Arlington...Art Garcia Office Cell artgarcia@uta.edu Texas State... Rob Beuerlein Office Cell rb60@txstate.edu Troy... Joe St. Pierre Office Cell jst.pierre@troy.edu WKU... Michael Schroeder Office Cell michael.schroeder@wku.edu Head-to-Head Regular Season Standings TEAM UALR A-STATE GSU UL-L ULM USA UTA TXST TROY WKU SBC W-L UALR Arkansas State Georgia State UL Lafayette UL Monroe South Alabama UT Arlington Texas State / Troy WKU Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB

4 November 8 #5 Kansas 80, UL Monroe 63 (ESPN3) South Alabama 74, Detroit 58 Ole Miss 69, Troy 54 7:30 PM Houston 76, Texas State 70 8:00 PM (ESPN3) Boise State 116, UT Arlington 87 9:00 PM November 9 Georgia State 97, Southern Poly 78 UL Lafayette 101, Louisiana College 67 November 11 North Florida 72, UALR 70 Arkansas State 65, Jackson State 61 Troy 102, LaGrange 69 12:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM November 12 #16 Wichita State 66, WKU 49 12:00 AM (ESPN) Vanderbilt 86, Georgia State 80 Texas 82, South Alabama 77 (Longhorn Network) Stephen F. Austin 64, Texas State 57 UL Lafayette 92, McNeese State 66 (Ragin Cajun Network) UT Alrington 88, Samford 75 7:30 PM November 13 Arkansas State 72, Tennessee-Martin 62 UT Arlington 111, Howard Payne 64 November 14 UAB 81, Troy 69 November 15 Cleveland State 83, UT Arlington 73 Arkansas 76, UL Lafayette 63 7:30 PM 7:30 PM November 16 Wyoming 85, Arkansas State 64 2:00 PM Oral Roberts 82, Texas State 65 3:00 PM #11 Florida 86, UALR 56 3:30 P.M. (Sun Sports) WKU 57, East Tennessee State 50 November 17 Baylor 87, UL Lafayette 68 4:00 PM (Fox Sports Southwest) November 18 (1) Georgia State 96, McNeese State 70 4:30 PM (ESPN3) Middle Tennessee 76, UALR 59 (ESPN3) UL Monroe 86, Samford 52 South Alabama 76, William Carey 53 Colorado 93, Arkansas State 70 8:00 PM (Pac-12 Network) November 19 (2) #4 Kentucky 105, UT Arlington 76 6:30 PM (CSS) Troy 77, Nicholls State 62 (1) Alabama 75, Georgia State 58 (ESPN3) November 20 SMU 70, Texas State 49 (ESPN3) November 21 (2) Robert Morris 88, UT Arlington 81 6:00 PM UL Monroe 84, Northwestern State 80 (OT) WKU 73, UNC Wilmington 58 November 22 UALR 85, Southern 82 (OT) (3) Southern Miss 66, South Alabama 59 SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL COMPOSITE SCHEDULE November 23 (3) South Alabama 74, Wright State 70 1:05 PM (4) UL Lafayette 84, Oakland 75 5:30 PM (2) Eastern Michigan 74, UT Arlington 69 6:00 PM WKU 67, Samford 64 November 24 (4) UL Lafayette 73, Coastal Carolina 69 1:30 PM Arkansas State 99, Central Arkansas 56 2:05 PM (3) South Alabama 79, Houston Baptist 59 2:05 PM November 25 (1) Canisius 79, Georgia State 71 4:00 PM South Dakota 57, Texas State 56 November 26 Marshall 74, WKU 64 6:00 PM (1) Elon 90, Georgia State 85 6:30 PM UALR 90, Southern Arkansas 58 Central Arkansas 60, Troy 53 November 27 UL Lafayette 105, Northwestern State 74 November 29 Oklahoma 101, UALR 81 2:00 PM (Sooner Sports) (5) Texas State 70, Tulane 52 4:00 PM Texas 72, UT Arlington 69 (Longhorn Network) November 30 Middle Tennessee 65, South Alabama 55 12:00 PM (CSS) (5) Texas State 70, Northern Kentucky 61 4:00 PM FIU 61, Georgia State 60 5:00 PM WKU 68, Eastern Illinois 53 6:00 PM Arkansas State 95, Lamar 89 WKU 68, Eastern Illinois 53 8:00 PM December 1 (5) Southeast Missouri 82, Texas State 74 4:00 PM December 2 Bowling Green 74, WKU 62 Troy 73, Alcorn State 70 (2OT) Arkansas State 86, Niagra 61 South Alabama 91, Spring Hill 41 December 3 UALR 88, Arkansas-Fort Smith 74 UT Arlington 81, Dallas Baptist 53 December 4 Georgia State 71, Young Harris 54 UL Lafayette 89, Louisiana Tech 80 Texas State 79, Cedarville 58 6:00 PM 7:30 PM 6:00 PM 6:30 PM December 7 #7 Louisville 113, UL Lafayette 74 12:00 PM (ESPN3) Rice 89, South Alabama 86 (3OT) 2:00 PM Southern Miss 75, Georgia State 65 3:00 PM WKU 69, Southern Illinois 60 3:05 PM Troy 85, Alabama State 69 Weber State at UT Arlington Cancelled December 9 UL Monroe 84, Thomas University 61 December 10 Tulsa 78, UALR 64 December 13 #16 Memphis 73, UALR 59 (ESPN3) December 14 #6 Louisville 79, Western Kentucky 63 11:00 AM (ESPN2) Georgia State 79, Old Dominion 73 1:00 PM Nebraska 79, Arkansas State 67 3:00 PM LSU 61, UL Monroe 54 (CST) Texas 85, Texas State 53 (Longhorn Network) UL Lafayette 79, Houston 76 (OT) UT Arlington 80, Houston Baptist 70 7:30 PM #20 Gonzaga 68, South Alabama 59 9:00 PM (Root Sports) December 15 Kansas State 72, Troy 43 December 17 Oklahoma 91, UT Arlington 89 Toledo 78, Arkansas State 65 UL Lafayette 103, Centenary 69 South Alabama 82, Dillard 73 December 18 Ole Miss 75, UL Monroe 62 Southern Miss 68, WKU 65 5:00 PM (Fox Sports Midwest) (Sooner Sports) 6:00 PM (CSS) December 19 (6) UC Santa Barbara 57, Troy 54 6:30 PM Jackson State 73, UL Lafayette 70 7:30 PM Utah 69, Texas State 50 8:00 PM (Pac-12 Network) December 20 Georgia State 73, Georgia Southern 61 6:00 PM (7) UALR 75, Jacksonville State 70 6:00 PM (6) Western Illinois 61, Troy 58 6:30 PM December 21 UT Arlington 79, Cal St. Bakersfield 75 (OT) 1:00 PM Western Kentucky 71, Murray State 64 1:00 PM Texas State 74, UT-Tyler 54 4:30 PM (7) Southern Miss 74, UALR 60 6:00 PM Arkansas State 83, Marshall 82 6:00 PM Arkansas 72, South Alabama 60 (6) Utah State 71, Troy 50 9:05 PM December 22 Georgia State 99, UTSA 68 Louisiana Tech 83, UL Monroe 61 1:00 PM December 27 #3 Ohio State 71, UL Monroe 31 6:00 PM December 28 Troy 74, Belhaven 62 WKU 103, Brescia 65 New Mexico State 82, South Alabama 64 December 29 Georgia State 89, East Carolina 82 December 30 UALR 88, Grambling 68 LIU Brooklyn 73, Texas State 64 Mississippi 79, WKU 74 Arkansas State 91, Southern Arkansas 66 Louisiana-Lafayette 90, Central Methodist 58 8:00 PM 12:00 PM Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB

5 January 2 * WKU 58, South Alabama 56 5:05 PM * Georgia State 81, Troy 72 6:00 PM * Arkansas State 82, UT Arlington 66 7:30 PM * UALR 63, Texas State 59 7:30 PM January 4 * WKU 60, Troy 51 12:00 PM (Sun Belt Network) * UL Monroe 103, UL Lafayette 98 4:00 PM * Georgia State 73, South Alabama 63 4:05 PM * Arkansas State 74, Texas State 69 4:30 PM * UALR 72, UT Arlington 70 5:00 PM SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL COMPOSITE SCHEDULE February 4 Lyon at Arkansas State - Postponed February 6 * Georgia State 68, UALR 57 * Texas State 65, UL Monroe 57 * UL Lafayette 92, UT Arlington 89 7:30 PM * Troy 79, South Alabama 74 7:30 PM February 8 * UL Lafayette 67, Texas State 66 4:30 PM * Western Kentucky 79, UALR 78 5:00 PM (Sun Belt Network) March 6 * UT Arlington at Troy * UL Lafayette at WKU * UL Monroe at Arkansas State * Texas State at South Alabama March 8 * WKU at Georgia State 1:30 PM * UL Monroe at UALR * UL Lafayette at Arkansas State * UT Arlington at South Alabama * Texas State at Troy 7:30 PM January 9 * UT Arlington 83, UL Monroe 79 (OT) 12:00 PM * UALR 65, South Alabama 60 * Georgia State 77, Western Kentucky 54 * Troy 98, Arkansas State 84 January 11 * UL Lafayette 90, UT Arlington 70 1:00 PM * Texas State 61, UL Monroe 36 4:00 PM * Troy 75, UALR 62 * Arkansas State 72, South Alabama 60 (Sun Belt Network) January 13 * UL Lafayette 81, Texas State 58 6:00 PM (Sun Belt Network) January 16 * Georgia State 73, Arkansas State 72 6:00 PM * UALR 87, Western Kentucky 83 * South Alabama 81, UL Lafayette 73 * UL Monroe 75, Troy 64 7:30 PM January 18 * Georgia State 99, UALR 73 1:30 PM * UT Arlington 56, Texas State 48 4:30 PM * WKU 82, Arkansas State77 (2OT) * UL Lafayette 72, Troy 59 7:30 PM * UL Monroe 64, South Alabama 58 7:30 PM (Sun Belt Network) January 23 * UALR 69, Texas State 64 * WKU 69, UL Monroe 51 * Georgia State 77, UL Lafayette 70 7:15 PM * UT Arlington 59, Troy 56 8:00 PM (Sun Belt Network) January 25 * WKU 79, UL Lafayette 70 3:00 PM (ESPN2) * Georgia State 66, UL Monroe 58 4:00 PM * Texas State 73, Troy 65 4:30 PM * Arkansas State 77, UALR 49 * UT Arlington 73, South Alabama 65 7:30 PM January 30 * South Alabama at Georgia State - Postponed 6:00 PM * UALR 80, UL Lafayette 69 * UL Monroe 72, Arkansas State 65 * WKU 77, UT Arlington 72 February 1 * UALR 62, South Alabama 58 4:05 PM * WKU 68, Texas State 64 * UL Lafayette 66, UL Monroe 50 7:15 PM * Arkansas State 83, Troy 73 7:30 PM * Georgia State 101, UT Arlington 91 (OT) 7:30 PM (Sun Belt Network) February 3 * South Alabama at Georgia State 6:00 PM February 10 * Arkansas State 72, Western Kentucky 58 February 13 * Texas State at Georgia State PPD * UT Arlington 85, UL Monroe 74 * Western Kentucky 81, Troy 76 * UL Lafayette 93, UALR 87 (2OT) * Arkansas State 85, South Alabama 61 February 15 * UL Monroe 65, UALR 49 2:00 PM * Troy 85, Georgia State 81 5:00 PM (ESPN2) * South Alabama 69, WKU 62 * UL Lafayette 85, Arkansas State 67 7:15 PM * UT Arlington 69, Texas State 62 7:30 PM February 17 * Georgia State 68, Texas State 41 7:30 PM February 20 * Georgia State 75, UL Monroe 60 6:00 PM * South Alabama 67, Texas State 66 (OT) * Arkansas State 83, UT Arlington 60 * UL Lafayette 78, Troy 63 February 22 * UT Arlington 75, UALR 71 * WKU 72, UL Monroe 63 * Arkansas State 73, Texas State 68 * South Alabama 86, Troy 78 * Georgia State 80, UL Lafayette 77 7:30 PM (Sun Belt Network) February 25 Lyon at Arkansas State February 27 * South Alabama at UL Monroe * WKU at Texas State * UALR at Troy * Georgia State at UT Arlington 7:30 PM March 1 * Troy at UL Monroe 4:00 PM * Georgia State at Texas State 4:30 PM * Arkansas State at UALR * WKU at UT Arlington 7:30 PM March 2 * South Alabama at UL Lafayette 3:00 PM (Sun Belt Network) March 4 * Georgia State at Arkansas State Sun Belt Conference Championship March 13 Game 1 - No. 5 Seed vs. No. 8 Seed Game 2 - No. 6 Seed vs. No. 7 Seed March 14 Game 3 - No. 4 Seed vs Winner Game 1 Game 4 - No. 3 Seed vs Winner Game 2 March 15 Game 5 - No. 1 Seed vs. Winner Game 3 Game 6 - No. 2 Seed vs. Winner Game 4 March 16 Championship Game * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game All times Central (CT) and subject to change 6:30 p.m. (Sun Belt Network) 8:30 p.m. (Sun Belt Network) 6 p.m. (Sun Belt Network) 8:30 p.m. (Sun Belt Network) 2 p.m. (Sun Belt Network) 4:30 p.m. (Sun Belt Network) 12 p.m. (ESPN2) Tournament Legend (1) Preseason NIT (Hosts: Duke, Alabama, Rutgers, Arizona) (2) Keightley Classic (Various Locations) (3) CBE Classic (Mobile, Ala.) (4) E.A. Sports Maui Mainland Invitational (Conway, S.C.) (5) 2013 Cure UCD Classic by Plan BC3 (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico) (6) Basketball Travelers Classic (Logan, Utah) (7) BVI Tropical Shootout (Tortola, British Virgin Islands) Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB

6 UALR Trojans (12-15, 7-8 Sun Belt) UALR dropped to and 7-8 in Sun Belt play with a loss to UT Arlington Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Jack Stephens Center. The loss was UALR s fifth straight, giving the program its first five-game skid since the season. The loss drops UALR into sixth place in the Sun Belt standings, a half game back of UT Arlington and a game and half up on ULM. The Trojans are shooting 39.5 percent over their last five games, including 28.7 percent from 3-point range. UALR has attempted 111 free throws compared to 157 for its opponents over the same span. In Sun Belt games only, Hagins is now averaging 13.4 points, 3.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per contest. UALR trimmed its deficit to three points twice in the final 30 seconds on Saturday, but UT Arlington was able to hold on for the victory Saturday night at the Jack Stephens Center. Sophomore Josh Hagins led the Trojans with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes of work. Leading by three at intermission, UTA opened the second half with an 11-0 run to go up on a 3-pointer by Jamel Outler with 17:29 to play. The Mavericks lead grew as large as 15 following an oldfashioned 3-point play by Brandon Edwards at the 16:55 mark. UALR fought back to trim the deficit to single digits, pulling within nine on a jumper by Hagins with 9:10 to go. That basket began an 8-0 run for the Trojans that ended with a steal and finish by junior Ben Dillard to make it with 8:22 to play. A 3-pointer by junior DeVonte Smith made it with 58 seconds remaining. After Lonnie McClanahan split a pair at the line for the Mavs, another Smith 3-pointer with 27 seconds left made it UTA scored three unanswered at the foul line to build a six-point lead with 17 seconds remaining, but Hagins hit a pull-up 3-pointer to again pull the Trojans within three with 12 seconds to play. SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL TEAM-by-TEAM SCHEDULES and NOTES Arkansas State Red Wolves (16-9, 9-5 Sun Belt) Arkansas State has compiled a home record (77.1 win pct.) to date since the season, which includes a 9-2 home ledger this campaign. The Red Wolves have won their last five home contests and are averaging 75.4 points an outing (377 pts.) while limiting their opponent to a 59.0 points per contest average (295 pts.) for a points per game differential during that period. Senior guard Melvin Johnson III has reached double-digit points in his last eight games after netting 17 points against Texas State this past Saturday (2/22). Johnson III is averaging 19.1 points per game (153 points) and shooting 51.1 percent (45-88) from the floor during his current scoring streak. This season, the A-State backcourt player has presently registered double-figure scoring in 19 of the Red Wolves 25 games. Senior guard Ed Townsel moved into 21st place on A-State s all-time career scoring charts in Saturday s (2/22) home triumph over Texas State with a game-leading 20 points. Townsel surpassed both Dewarick Spencer ( ; 1,073 career points) and Adrian Banks ( ; 1,081 career points). He currently has amassed 1,083 career points in 122 contests and is only two points shy of moving into a 20th-place tie with Fred Shepherd ( ; 1,085 career points) among the program s top career points leaders. Senior forward Kirk Van Slyke, who scored a game-high 23 points against UT Arlington last Thursday (2/20) and had 14 points versus Texas State Saturday (2/22), has attained double-figure point totals in 21 contests this campaign. Van Slyke is averaging a team-leading 15.9 points per game (398 pts.) in 25 appearances and has led or shared squad-best single-game scoring honors eight times this season. Melvin Johnson III s team-leading 68 three-point field goals made this season represents the most triples made in a campaign since when Ryan Wedel made 90 three pointers in 224 attempts. Johnson III is 29 treys away from tying Adrian Banks 97 three-point field goals set in the campaign. He currently ranks fourth among the NCAA Division I statistical leaders in three-point field goal percentage (47.8%), 50th in three-point field goals made per game (2.71), and 71st in total three-point field goals made (65). DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME NOV. 11 NORTH FLORIDA LITTLE ROCK, ARK. L, Nov. 16 at Florida Gainesville, Fla. L, (Sun Sports) Nov. 18 at Middle Tennessee Murfreesboro, Tenn. L, (ESPN3) Nov. 22 at Southern Baton Rouge, La. W, (OT) NOV. 26 SOUTHERN ARKANSAS LITTLE ROCK, ARK. W, Nov. 29 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla. L, (Sooner Sports) DEC. 3 UA FORT SMITH LITTLE ROCK, ARK. W, Dec. 10 at Tulsa Tulsa, Okla. L, 6478 Dec. 13 at Memphis Memphis, Tenn. L, (ESPN3) Dec. 20 (1) vs. Jacksonville State Tortola, British Virgin Islands W, Dec. 21 (1) vs. Southern Miss Tortola, British Virgin Islands L, DEC. 30 GRAMBLING LITTLE ROCK, ARK. W, Jan. 2 * at Texas State San Marcos, Texas W, Jan. 4 * at UT Arlington Arlington, Texas W, JAN. 9 * SOUTH ALABAMA LITTLE ROCK, ARK. W, JAN. 11 * TROY LITTLE ROCK, ARK. L, Jan. 16 * at WKU Bowling Green, Ky. W, (OT) Jan. 18 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. L, JAN. 23 * TEXAS STATE LITTLE ROCK, ARK. W, Jan. 25 * at Arkansas State Jonesboro, Ark. L, JAN. 30 * UL LAFAYETTE LITTLE ROCK, ARK. W, Feb. 1 * at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. W, FEB. 6 * GEORGIA STATE LITTLE ROCK, ARK. L, FEB. 8 * WKU LITTLE ROCK, ARK. L, Feb. 13 * at UL Lafayette Lafayette, La. L, (2OT) Feb. 15 * at UL Monroe Monroe, La. L, FEB. 22 * UT ARLINGTON LITTLE ROCK, ARK. L, Feb. 27 * at Troy Troy, Ala. 7 p.m. MARCH 1 * ARKANSAS STATE LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 7 P.M. MARCH 8 * UL MONROE LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 7 P.M. March Sun Belt Conference Championship New Orleans, La. TBA (1) BVI Tropical Shootout (Tortola, British Virgin Islands) * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game; All times Central (CT) and subject to change; Home games in Bold DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME Nov. 11 at Jackson State Jackson, Miss. W, NOV. 13 TENNESSEE-MARTIN JONESBORO, ARK. W, Nov. 16 at Wyoming Laramie, Wyo. L, Nov. 18 at Colorado Boulder, Colo. L, (Pac-12 Net) NOV. 24 CENTRAL ARKANSAS JONESBORO, ARK. W, Nov. 30 at Lamar Beaumont, Texas W, DEC. 2 NIAGARA JONESBORO, ARK. W, Dec. 14 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb. L, DEC. 17 TOLEDO JONESBORO, ARK. L, Dec. 21 at Marshall Huntington, W.Va. W, DEC. 30 SOUTHERN ARKANSAS JONESBORO, ARK. W, Jan. 2 * at UT Arlington Arlington, Texas W, Jan. 4 * at Texas State San Marcos, Texas W, JAN. 9 * TROY JONESBORO, ARK. L, JAN. 11 * SOUTH ALABAMA JONESBORO, ARK. W, (SBN) Jan. 16 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. L, Jan. 18 * at WKU Bowling Green, Ky. L, (2OT) JAN. 25 * UALR JONESBORO, ARK. W, Jan. 30 * at UL Monroe Monroe, La. L, Feb. 1 * at Troy Troy, Ala. W, FEB. 4 LYON JONESBORO, ARK. PPD FEB. 10 * WKU JONESBORO, ARK. W, Feb. 13 * at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. W, Feb. 15 * at UL Lafayette Lafayette, La. L, FEB. 20 * UT ARLINGTON JONESBORO, ARK. W, FEB. 22 * TEXAS STATE JONESBORO, ARK. W, FEB. 25 LYON JONESBORO, ARK. 7:05 P.M. March 1 * at UALR Little Rock, Ark. 7 p.m. MARCH 4 * GEORGIA STATE JONESBORO, ARK. 7:05 P.M. MARCH 6 * UL MONROE JONESBORO, ARK. 7:05 P.M. MARCH 8 * UL LAFAYETTE JONESBORO, ARK. 7:05 P.M. March Sun Belt Conference Championship New Orleans, La. TBA * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game; All times Central (CT) and subject to change; Home games in Bold Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB

7 SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL Georgia State Panthers (20-7, 13-1 Sun Belt) Georgia State has won three-in-a-row, following the school-record 14-game winning streak that came to an end at Troy on Feb. 15. The Panthers have won 17-of-18 and now have a magic number of one to clinch at least a share of the Sun Belt regular season title and a bye to the semifinals of the conference tournament. Georgia State has won 12-straight at home, the second longest homecourt winning streak in the history of the program. The school-record is 25 set between 2001 and The Panthers have one more home game this season on March 8 against Western Kentucky. Georgia State currently has four 1,000-point scorers in the line-up. In the last three games, R.J. Hunter, Ryan Harrow and Manny Atkins joined the group. GSU is one of three teams in the country that can claim the honor, joining Elon and North Dakota State. R.J. Hunter scored his 1,000th career point against Troy on Feb. 15, becoming the 18th Panther in program history to accomplish the feat. Hunter reached the milestone in just 55 games, the second quickest in program history. He is now just six-points behind Trae Goldston for 16th on the all-time list. With the win over UL Lafayette, Georgia State won its 20th game of the season. It marks the fifth time in program history the Panthers have won 20-games in a season and the second time in the last three years. The 13 conference wins are tied for the fourth most in program history and the 12 home wins are tied for third most. Georgia State has eight non-home wins this year (7 road, 1 neutral) and with three regular season road games left, will look to close in on the record of 13 non-home wins set during the season which ended with an appearance in the second round of the NCAA tournament. R.J. Hunter (31) and Devonta White (30) combined to become just the second duo in program history to score 30 points in the same game against UT Arlington. DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME NOV. 9 SOUTHERN POLY ATLANTA, GA. W, Nov. 12 at Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. L, Nov. 18 (1) vs. McNeese State Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, (ESPN3) Nov. 19 (1) at Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. L, (ESPN3) Nov. 25 (1) vs. Canisius Elon, N.C. L, Nov. 26 (1) at Elon Elon, N.C. L, Nov. 30 at Florida International Miami, Fla. L, DEC. 4 YOUNG HARRIS ATLANTA, GA. W, Dec. 7 at Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Miss. L, (OT) DEC. 14 OLD DOMINION ATLANTA, GA. W, DEC. 20 GEORGIA SOUTHERN ATLANTA, GA. W, Dec. 22 at UTSA San Antonio, Texas W, Dec. 29 at East Carolina Greenville, N.C. W, JAN. 2 * TROY ATLANTA, GA. W, Jan. 4 * at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. W, Jan. 9 * at WKU Bowling Green, Ky. W, JAN. 16 * ARKANSAS STATE ATLANTA, GA. W, JAN. 18 * UALR ATLANTA, GA. W, Jan. 23 * at UL Lafayette Lafayette, La. W, Jan. 25 * at UL Monroe Monroe, La. W, JAN. 30 * SOUTH ALABAMA ATLANTA, GA. PPD FEB. 1 * UT ARLINGTON ATLANTA, GA. W, (OT) (SBN) JAN. 30 * SOUTH ALABAMA ATLANTA, GA. W, Feb. 6 * at UALR Little Rock, Ark. W, FEB. 13 * TEXAS STATE ATLANTA, GA. PPD Feb. 15 * at Troy Troy, Ala. L, (ESPN2) FEB. 17 * TEXAS STATE ATLANTA, GA. W, FEB. 20 * UL MONROE ATLANTA, GA. W, FEB. 22 * UL LAFAYETTE ATLANTA, GA. W, (SBN) Feb. 27 * at UT Arlington Arlington, Texas 7:30 p.m. March 1 * at Texas State San Marcos, Texas 4:30 p.m. March 4 * at Arkansas State Jonesboro, Ark. 7:05 p.m. MARCH 8 * WKU ATLANTA, GA. 1:30 P.M. March Sun Belt Conference Championship New Orleans, La. TBA (1) Preseason NIT (Hosts: Duke, Alabama, Rutgers, Arizona) * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game; All times Central (CT) and subject to change; Home games in Bold UL Lafayette (18-10, 9-6 Sun Belt) The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns will look to get back into the win column on Sunday, March 2, when it plays host to Sun Belt Conference opponent South Alabama in a 3 p.m. game at the Cajundome. The game, the home finale for the Ragin Cajuns, will be televised on the Sun Belt Television Network. Prior to the game, the Ragin Cajuns senior class of Braylon Lazare, Bryant Mbamalu and Elridge Moore will be honored. With one steal against Georgia State on Saturday, junior Elfrid Payton moved two away from breaking the school career record of 184 set by Chris Manuel ( ). Payton had 37 steals as a freshman in and 80 in , the third-highest single season total in school history. Payton has 66 steals this season. A season-high, 21-point game last Thursday against Troy and a 19-point performance on Saturday at Georgia State has moved senior Bryant Mbamalu to within 32 points of being the 42nd player in school history to score 1,000 career points. With at least four games to go, Mbamalu needs to average 8.0 points a game to accomplish the feat. He scored 161 points as a freshman ( ), 233 as a sophomore ( ) and 400 last year as a junior. Mbamalu would already be over the 1,000-point mark had he not missed the first 12 games this year with a foot injury. With Mbamalu on the cusp of 1,000 points for his career, it would mark only the fourth time in school history that a UL Lafayette team had three 1,000-point scorers on it and the first time that all three went over the plateau in the same season. The first trio came in when career scoring leader Dwight Bo Lamar (3,493 points), Roy Ebron (1,683 points) and Payton Townsend (1,240) accomplished it. It also happened in 1983 with Graylin Warner (1,762), Dion Brown (1,412) and Alonza Allen (1,211) and finally in with Michael Allen (1,673), Byron Starks (1,592) and Tony Moore (1,118). The win over Troy last Thursday was the 18th of the season for the Ragin Cajuns, two more than the previous high win total in four seasons under head coach Bob Marlin (16 in ) and the most by a UL Lafayette team since the Cajuns went in DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME NOV. 9 LOUISIANA COLLEGE LAFAYETTE, LA. W, NOV. 12 MCNEESE STATE LAFAYETTE, LA. W, Nov. 15 at Arkansas Fayeteville, Ark. L, Nov. 17 at Baylor Waco, Texas L, (FSSW) Nov. 23 (1) vs. Oakland Conway, S.C. W, Nov. 24 (1) at Coastal Carolina Conway, S.C. W, NOV. 27 NORTHWESTERN STATE LAFAYETTE, LA. W, Dec. 4 at Louisiana Tech Ruston, La. W, Dec. 7 at #7 Louisville Louisville, Ky. L, (ESPN3) DEC. 14 HOUSTON LAFAYETTE, LA. W, (OT) DEC. 17 CENTENARY LAFAYETTE, LA. W, Dec. 19 at Jackson State Jackson, Miss. L, DEC. 30 CENTRAL METHODIST LAFAYETTE, LA. W, Jan. 4 * at UL Monroe Monroe, La. L, (2OT) JAN. 11 * UT ARLINGTON LAFAYETTE, LA. W, JAN. 13 * TEXAS STATE LAFAYETTE, LA. W, (SBN) Jan. 16 * at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. L, Jan. 18 * at Troy Troy, Ala. W, JAN. 23 * GEORGIA STATE LAFAYETTE, LA. L, JAN. 25 * WKU LAFAYETTE, LA. L, (ESPN2) Jan. 30 * at UALR Little Rock, Ark. L, FEB. 1 * UL MONROE LAFAYETTE, LA. W, Feb. 6 * at UT Arlington Arlington, Texas W, Feb. 8 * at Texas State San Marcos, Texas W, FEB. 13 * UALR LAFAYETTE, LA. W, (2OT) FEB. 15 * ARKANSAS STATE LAFAYETTE, LA. W, FEB. 20 * TROY LAFAYETTE, LA. W, Feb. 22 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. L, (SBN) MARCH 2 * SOUTH ALABAMA LAFAYETTE, LA. 3 P.M. (SBN) March 6 * at WKU Bowling Green, Ky. 7 p.m. March 8 * at Arkansas State Jonesboro, Ark. 7:05 p.m. March Sun Belt Conference Championship New Orleans, La. TBA (1) E.A. Sports Maui Mainland Invitational (Conway, S.C.) * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game; All times Central (CT) and subject to change; Home games in Bold Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB

8 SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL UL Monroe Warhawks (8-14, 5-9 Sun Belt) The Warhawks return home where they are 5-5 this season and all-time at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Keith Richard is 5-5 in his head coaching career against USA In the first meeting against USA on Jan. 18, ULM came out with a road victory. The seven-point halftime deficit against was the largest ULM has overcome this season in a win. Junior Tylor Ongwae led the team with 19 points and was one of four double-digit scorers Last weekend, freshman Nick Coppola and junior Chinedu Amajoyi posted career-games against Georgia State. Coppola netted 16 points while Amajoyi put in 11. Coppola has played seven 40-minute games this season and tied the school record of five in-a-row set in by Maurice Bell Ongwae ranks second in the league in SBC games in scoring with 19.4 ppg. He has tallied 14 consecutive double-figure scoring games, reaching that mark in every SBC contest. Ongwae has recorded double-digits in 20 of 22 games on the season. He scores 16.9 ppg on the season Senior Jayon James leads the team in both rebounds (6.3 rpg) and assists (4.5 apg) and also scores 9.9 ppg on the year. He has led the team in assists in 15 games this season. James has posted at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists eight times this season. His 5.0 apg in conference games ranks second in the league Amajoyi leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage at.522 (12-for-13). He has started in ULM s last seven games and has doubled his scoring average in that span In ULM s last home game, it posted a victory over UALR. The 49 points was the fewest ULM has ever let up and the 16-point was the largest ever in 23 meetings between the two schools. The Warhawks dominated in the paint, South Alabama Jaguars (9-18, 3-11 Sun Belt) South Alabama has won two out of three games for the first time since Dec. 2. The Jaguars have allowed three of their last four opponents to score 48 points or more in the second half. Troy s 54 points Saturday are the most by a USA opponent this season. The 45 first-half points scored by the Jags Saturday are the secondmost put up before halftime this year and the 21-point halftime lead tied a season high. USA s 86 total points are the team s most in regulation since posting 91 against Spring Hill on Dec. 2 and the most against a Division I opponent in regulation all season. South Alabama shot better than 50 percent for the fourth time this season and the first since shooting a season-best 59.2 percent Jan. 16 against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Jaguars are 4-0 overall and 3-0 in Sun Belt play when shooting 50 percent or better. Augustine Rubit has scored 20 points or more in four of his last five games averaging 20.8 points over that span while shooting 50 percent or better four times with four double-doubles. Rubit is three points away from taking over 11th place in Sun Belt Conference history and 14 points from ninth. He needs 13 points to move into second place past Terry Catledge in the USA record books. Rubit tied one of Catledge s school records Saturday when he put up 22 points and 10 rebounds for his 52nd career double-double, which leads all active Division I players. Since going a career-long five games without a double-double, he has two in his last three games. Rubit blocked two shots Saturday, giving him 11 in his last three games to bump him up to fourth in the league in blocks per game (1.3). He currently has 128 in his career and needs four to move into the Sun Belt s top-25 all time list. DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME Nov. 8 at #5 Kansas Lawrence, Kans. L, (ESPN3) NOV. 18 SAMFORD MONROE, LA. W, Nov. 21 at Northwestern State Natchitoches, La. W, (OT) DEC. 9 THOMAS MONROE, LA. W, Dec. 14 at LSU Baton Rouge, La. L, (CST) Dec. 18 at Ole Miss Oxford, Miss. L, (CSS) DEC. 22 LOUISIANA TECH MONROE, LA. L, Dec. 27 at #3 Ohio State Columbus, Ohio L, JAN. 4 * UL LAFAYETTE MONROE, LA. W, (2OT) Jan. 9 * at UT Arlington Arlington, Texas L, (OT) JAN. 11 * TEXAS STATE MONROE, LA. L, Jan. 16 * at Troy Troy, Ala. W, Jan. 18 * at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. W, (SBN) JAN. 23 * WKU MONROE, LA. L, JAN. 25 * GEORGIA STATE MONROE, LA. L, JAN. 30 * ARKANSAS STATE MONROE, LA. W, Feb. 1 * at UL Lafayette Lafayette, La. L, Feb. 6 * at Texas State San Marcos, Texas L, FEB. 13 * UT ARLINGTON MONROE, LA. L, FEB. 15 * UALR MONROE, LA. W, Feb. 20 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. L, Feb. 22 * at WKU Bowling Green, Ky. L, FEB. 27 * SOUTH ALABAMA MONROE, LA. 7 P.M. MARCH 1 * TROY MONROE, LA. 4 P.M. March 6 * at Arkansas State Jonesboro, Ark. 7:05 p.m. March 8 * at UALR Little Rock, Ark. 7 p.m. March Sun Belt Conference Championship New Orleans, La. TBA * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game; All times Central (CT) and subject to change; Home games in Bold DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME NOV. 8 DETROIT MOBILE, ALA. W, Nov. 12 at Texas Austin, Texas L, (Longhorn Network) NOV. 18 WILLIAM CAREY MOBILE, ALA. W, NOV. 22 (1) SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI MOBILE, ALA. L, NOV. 23 (1) WRIGHT STATE MOBILE, ALA. W, NOV. 24 (1) HOUSTON BAPTIST MOBILE, ALA. W, Nov. 30 at Middle Tennessee Murfreesboro, Tenn. L, (CSS) DEC. 2 SPRING HILL MOBILE, ALA. W, Dec. 7 at Rice Houston, Texas L, (3OT) Dec. 14 at #20 Gonzaga Seattle, Wash. L, (Root Sports) DEC. 17 DILLARD MOBILE, ALA. W, Dec. 21 vs. Arkansas Little Rock, Ark. L, Dec. 28 at New Mexico State Las Cruces, N.M. L, JAN. 2 * WKU MOBILE, ALA. L, JAN. 4 * GEORGIA STATE MOBILE, ALA. L, Jan. 9 * at UALR Little Rock, Ark. L, Jan. 11 * at Arkansas State Jonesboro, Ark. L, (SBN) JAN. 16 * UL LAFAYETTE MOBILE, ALA. W, JAN. 18 * UL MONROE MOBILE, ALA. L, (SBN) Jan. 25 * at UT Arlington Arlington, Texas L, Jan. 30 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. PPD FEB. 1 * UALR MOBILE, ALA. L, Jan. 30 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. L, Feb. 6 * at Troy Troy, Ala. L, FEB. 13 * ARKANSAS STATE MOBILE, ALA. L, Feb. 15 * at WKU Bowling Green, Ky. W, Feb. 20 * at Texas State San Marcos, Texas L, (OT) FEB. 22 * TROY MOBILE, ALA. W, Feb. 27 * at UL Monroe Monroe, La. 7 p.m. March 2 * at UL Lafayette Lafayette, La. 3 p.m. (SBN) MARCH 6 * TEXAS STATE MOBILE, ALA. 7:05 P.M. MARCH 8 * UT ARLINGTON MOBILE, ALA. 7:05 P.M. March Sun Belt Conference Championship New Orleans, La. TBA (1) 2013 Cure UCD Classic by Plan BC3 (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico) * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game; All times Central (CT) and subject to change; Home games in Bold Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB

9 SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL UT Arlington Mavericks (12-14, 7-7 Sun Belt) UT Arlington completes its home schedule this week with games against Sun Belt Conference leaders Georgia State (Thursday) and Western Kentucky (Saturday). The Mavericks lost to both on the road earlier this season. UT Arlington is coming off Saturday s victory at UALR. Junior guard Jamel Outler scored a season-high and career-high-tying 21, senior forward Brandon Edwards added 17 points and senior guard Reger Dowell had 15. The Mavericks improved to overall and 7-7 in the Sun Belt. UTA jumped ahead of the Trojans (12-15, 7-8) in the league standings. Senior G Reger Dowell scored nine points Thursday, marking the first time this season he failed to reach double figures. He was back in double digits Saturday with 15 points in the win at UALR. Dowell, the leading scorer in the SBC and 28th nationally at 20.0 points per game, has scored in double figures in 23 of his 24 games and has hit the 20 points on 13 occasions. Dowell is one of five players in the country averaging at least 20 points per game who didn t average double figures in his previous season. The others are: Cameron Bairstow (New Mexico), Aaric Murray (Texas Southern), D.J. Balentine (Evansville) and Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington). Junior G Lonnie McClanahan has been on an offensive tear since Jan. 9. McClanahan set career highs in successive games, scoring 25 against ULM (1/9) and following that up with 27 at UL Lafayette (1/11). He set a new career best with 28 at WKU (1/30) and beat that with 31 against UL Lafayette (2/6). He s averaged 18.6 points over his last 12 games (all starts). DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME Nov. 8 at Boise State Boise, Id. L, NOV. 12 SAMFORD ARLINGTON, TEXAS W, NOV. 13 HOWARD PAYNE ARLINGTON, TEXAS W, NOV. 15 (1) CLEVELAND STATE ARLINGTON, TEXAS L, Nov. 19 (1) at Kentucky Lexington, Ky. L, (CSS) Nov. 21 (1) at Robert Morris Pittsburgh, Pa. L, Nov. 23 (1) at Eastern Michigan Ypsilanti, Mich. L, Nov. 29 at Texas Austin, Texas L, (Longhorn Network) DEC. 3 DALLAS BAPTIST ARLINGTON, TEXAS W, DEC. 7 WEBER STATE ARLINGTON, TEXAS CANCELLED Dec. 14 at Houston Baptist Houston, Texas W, Dec. 17 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla. L, (Sooner Sports) DEC. 21 CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD ARLINGTON, TEXAS W, (OT) JAN. 2 * ARKANSAS STATE ARLINGTON, TEXAS L, JAN. 4 * UALR ARLINGTON, TEXAS L, JAN. 9 * UL MONROE ARLINGTON, TEXAS W, (OT) Jan. 11 * at UL Lafayette Lafayette, La. L, Jan. 18 * at Texas State San Marcos, Texas W, JAN. 23 * TROY ARLINGTON, TEXAS W, (SBN) JAN. 25 * SOUTH ALABAMA ARLINGTON, TEXAS W, Jan. 30 * at WKU Bowling Green, Ky. L, Feb. 1 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. L, (OT) (SBN) FEB. 6 * UL LAFAYETTE ARLINGTON, TEXAS L, Feb. 13 * at UL Monroe Monroe, La. W, FEB. 15 * TEXAS STATE ARLINGTON, TEXAS W, Feb. 20 * at Arkansas State Jonesboro, Ark. L, Feb. 22 * at UALR Little Rock, Ark. W, FEB. 27 * GEORGIA STATE ARLINGTON, TEXAS 7:30 P.M. MARCH 1 * WKU ARLINGTON, TEXAS 7:30 P.M. March 6 * at Troy Troy, Ala. 7 p.m. March 8 * at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. 7:05 p.m. March Sun Belt Conference Championship New Orleans, La. TBA Senior F Brandon Edwards is 24th nationally and second in SBC in rebounding at 9.5 per game. Has 11 double-doubles. (1) Keightley Classic * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game; All times Central (CT) and subject to change; Home games in Bold Texas State Bobcats (8-19, 4-10 Sun Belt) Reid Koenen set a career-high with 26 points and was two threepointers shy of the Texas State single-game record, Thursday, against South Alabama going 7-of-10 from the three-point line. The Bobcats had their nine game streak of holding opponents under 70 points snapped on Saturday against Arkansas State. That was the longest in the program since Texas State held Arkansas State to just six three-pointers on Saturday. That is a marked improvement from the first time the two teams met when the Red Wolves were 14-of-22 from three against the Bobcats. Thursday s overtime game was just the second for Texas State since The Bobcats beat UTSA last year in OT The last OT game before last year s affair was in 2011 at Stephen F. Austin against current Texas State head coach Danny Kaspar. Texas State held South Alabama to 37.5 percent from the field on Thursday. The Bobcats are now 5-3 when holding teams to under 40 percent from the field. DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME Nov. 8 at Houston Houston, Texas L, (ESPN3) NOV. 12 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN SAN MARCOS, TEXAS L, Nov. 16 at Oral Roberts Tulsa, Okla. L, Nov. 20 at SMU Dallas, Texas L, (ESPN3) NOV. 25 SOUTH DAKOTA SAN MARCOS, TEXAS L, Nov. 29 (1) vs. Tulane Puerto Vallarta, Mexico W, Nov. 30 (1) vs. Northern Kentucky Puerto Vallarta, Mexico W, Dec. 1 (1) vs. Southeast Missouri Puerto Vallarta, Mexico L, DEC. 4 (1) CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS, TEXAS W, Dec. 14 at Texas Austin, Texas L, (Longhorn Network) Dec. 19 at Utah Salt Lake City, Utah L, (Pac-12 Network) DEC. 21 UT-TYLER SAN MARCOS, TEXAS W, DEC. 30 LIU-BROOKLYN SAN MARCOS, TEXAS L, JAN. 2 * UALR SAN MARCOS, TEXAS L, JAN. 4 * ARKANSAS STATE SAN MARCOS, TEXAS L, Jan. 11 * at UL Monroe Monroe, La. W, Jan. 13 * at UL Lafayette Lafayette, La. L, (SBN) JAN. 18 * UT ARLINGTON SAN MARCOS, TEXAS L, Jan. 23 * at UALR Little Rock, Ark. L, JAN. 25 * TROY SAN MARCOS, TEXAS W, Feb. 1 * at Western Kentucky Bowling Green, Ky. L, FEB. 6 * UL MONROE SAN MARCOS, TEXAS W, FEB. 8 * UL LAFAYETTE SAN MARCOS, TEXAS L, Feb. 13 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. PPD Feb. 15 * at UT Arlington Arlington, Texas L, Feb. 13 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. L, FEB. 20 * SOUTH ALABAMA SAN MARCOS, TEXAS W, (OT) Feb. 22 * at Arkansas State Jonesboro, Ark. L, FEB. 27 * WESTERN KENTUCKY SAN MARCOS, TEXAS 7 P.M. MARCH 1 * GEORGIA STATE SAN MARCOS, TEXAS 4:30 P.M. March 6 * at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. 7:05 p.m. March 8 * at Troy Troy, Ala. 7:30 p.m. March Sun Belt Conference Championship New Orleans, La. TBA (1) 2013 Cure UCD Classic by Plan BC3 (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico) * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game; All times Central (CT) and subject to change; Home games in Bold Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB

10 SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL Troy Trojans (9-17, 4-10 Sun Belt) Troy lost both game this weekend, falling to UL-Lafayette and South Alabama The Trojans got out to an early six-point lead against the Ragin Cajuns but hit a long cold stretch to end the first half that did them in. Antoine Myers led the way with 14 points, while Kevin Thomas, Hunter Williams and Kelton Ford each finished with 11. Troy got out to a worse start against South Alabama, eventually trailing by 26 in the first half. The Trojans would mount a tremendous comeback, cutting the deficit to six points twice in the second half, but couldn t get any closer. Williams was Troy s top performer, finishing with 24 points. Myers and Tevin Calhoun each finished with 14 points. Troy currently sits in a tie for the eighth and final spot in the Sun Belt Championships in New Orleans with four games to play. The Trojans will host UALR on Thursday night before heading to ULM on Saturday. Troy s final two games come against UT Arlington and Texas State at home. DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME Nov. 8 at Ole Miss Oxford, MIss. L, NOV. 11 LAGRANGE TROY, ALA. W, Nov. 14 at UAB Birmingham, Ala. L, NOV. 19 NICHOLLS STATE TROY, ALA. W, Nov. 26 at Central Arkansas Conway, Ark. L, DEC. 2 ALCORN STATE TROY, ALA. W, (2OT) DEC. 7 ALABAMA STATE TROY, ALA. W, Dec. 15 at Kansas State Manhattan, Kan. L, (FS MIdwest) Dec. 19 (1) vs. UC Santa Barbara Logan, Utah L, Dec. 20 (1) vs. Western Illinois Logan, Utah L, Dec. 21 (1) at Uah State Logan, Utah L, DEC. 28 BELHAVEN TROY, ALA. W, Jan. 2 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. L, JAN. 4 * WKU TROY, ALA. L, (SBN) Jan. 9 * at Arkansas State Jonesboro, Ark. W, Jan. 11 * at UALR Little Rock, Ark. W, JAN. 16 * UL MONROE TROY, ALA. L, JAN. 18 * UL LAFAYETTE TROY, ALA. L, Jan. 23 * at UT Arlington Arlington, Texas L, (SBN) Jan. 25 * at Texas State San Marcos, Texas L, FEB. 1 * ARKANSAS STATE TROY, ALA. L, FEB. 6 * SOUTH ALABAMA TROY, ALA. W, Feb. 13 * at WKU Bowling Green, Ky. L, FEB. 15 * GEORGIA STATE TROY, ALA. W, (ESPN2) Feb. 20 * at UL Lafayette Lafayette, La. L, Feb. 22 * at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. L, FEB. 27 * UALR TROY, ALA. 7 P.M. March 1 * at UL Monroe Monroe, La. 4 p.m. MARCH 6 * UT ARLINGTON TROY, ALA. 7 P.M. MARCH 8 * TEXAS STATE TROY, ALA. 7:30 P.M. March Sun Belt Conference Championship New Orleans, La. TBA (1) Basketball Travelers Classic (Logan, Utah) * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game; All times Central (CT) and subject to change; Home games in Bold WKU Hilltoppers (18-9, 10-4 Sun Belt) WKU rebounded after a 1-2 week by defeating ULM Saturday night, 72-63, in its only outing of the week. WKU started the game on an 18-1 run, which proved to be too much for ULM to overcome. For the second time in three games, WKU led wire-to-wire en route to victory. Trency Jackson led all scorers with a career-high 25 points, and Daouda Soumaoro made his first-career start and grabbed a careerbest eight rebounds in 27 minutes. Sixty of WKU s 72 points against ULM came from players other than George Fant and T.J. Price, WKU s Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Team members. With four games remaining in the regular season, WKU heads to Texas to play Texas State and UT Arlington this week. Entering the week, WKU enjoys an 18-9 overall record and a 10-4 mark in league play. The Hilltoppers are in second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME Nov. 12 at #16 Wichita State Wichita, Kan. L, (ESPN2) NOV. 16 EAST TENNESSEE STATE BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, NOV. 21 UNC WILMINGTON BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, NOV. 23 SAMFORD BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, Nov. 26 at Marshall Huntington, W.V. L, NOV. 30 EASTERN ILLINOIS BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, Dec. 2 at Bowling Green State Bowling Green, Ohio L, Dec. 7 at Southern Illinois Carbondale, Ill. W, Dec. 14 at #6 Louisville Louisville, Ky. L, (ESPN2) DEC. 18 SOUTHERN MISS BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, DEC. 21 MURRAY STATE BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, DEC. 28 BRESCIA (KY.) BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, DEC. 30 OLE MISS BOWLING GREEN, KY. L, Jan. 2 * at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. W, Jan. 4 * at Troy Troy, Ala. W, (SBN) JAN. 9 * GEORGIA STATE BOWLING GREEN, KY. L, JAN. 16 * UALR BOWLING GREEN, KY. L, (OT) JAN. 18 * ARKANSAS STATE BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, (2OT) Jan. 23 * at UL Monroe Monroe, La. W, Jan. 25 * at UL Lafayette Lafayette, La. W, (ESPN2) JAN. 30 * UT ARLINGTON BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, FEB. 1 * TEXAS STATE BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, Feb. 8 * at UALR Little Rock, Ark. W, Feb. 10 * at Arkansas State Jonesboro, Ark. L, FEB. 13 * TROY BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, FEB. 15 * SOUTH ALABAMA BOWLING GREEN, KY. L, FEB. 22 * UL MONROE BOWLING GREEN, KY. W, Feb. 27 * at Texas State San Marcos, Texas 7 p.m. March 1 * at UT Arlington Arlington, Texas 7:30 p.m. MARCH 6 * UL LAFAYETTE BOWLING GREEN, KY. 7 P.M. March 8 * at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. 1:30 p.m. March Sun Belt Conference Championship New Orleans, La. TBA * Denotes Sun Belt Conference game; All times Central (CT) and subject to change; Home games in Bold Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB

11 2014 CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET 2014 SUN BELT MEN S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP MARCH NEW ORLEANS, LA - HOST: SUN BELT CONFERENCE Opening Round Thursday, March 13 Quarterfinals Friday, March 14 Semifinals Saturday, March 15 Championship Sunday, March 16 No. 5 Seed 6 p.m. (CT) Sun Belt Network No. 8 Seed 6 p.m. (CT) Sun Belt Network No. 4 Seed 2 p.m. (CT) Sun Belt Network No. 1 Seed 12 p.m. (CT) ESPN2 Champion No. 2 Seed No. 3 Seed 4:30 p.m. (CT) Sun Belt Network No. 6 Seed 8:30 p.m. (CT) Sun Belt Network 8:30 p.m. (CT) Sun Belt Network No. 7 Seed Top (8) seeds from regular-season will advance to the SBC Championship. All times are Central time and subject to change without notice. Facebook.com/TheSunBeltConference Twitter.com/The_Sun_Belt Twitter Hashtag: #SBCMBB