Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Week 7)
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Standings
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
Men’s Basketball Conference Play Begins Tonight
NEW ORLEANS – The race for the Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball title begins tonight with eight teams in action on the first night of league play.
The first game pits the upstart Little Rock Trojans (10-1) against South Alabama (5-6) at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala., at 7:05 p.m. CT. The Trojans nearly finished non-conference play with a perfect record, starting 10-0 before its first loss of the season at Texas Tech on Dec. 22. The 10-game win streak to start the year was the best in program and Sun Belt Conference history.
Georgia State (7-2), picked second in the preseason poll, travels to the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, for a 7:15 p.m. CT showdown with UT Arlington (9-2). Both the Mavericks and Panthers have impressed in the non-conference slate with UT Arlington defeating Memphis and Ohio State in a four-day span and winning its last four games. Georgia State has also won its last four contests, three against Conference-USA opponents, and owns its best start to a season under fifth-year head coach Ron Hunter.
Georgia Southern (4-6) and Texas State (6-3) tip off their conference seasons at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos, Texas. The game will be carried by ESPN3 and Time Warner Cable will broadcast the game on TWC SportsChannel (Ch. 323) in the Austin and San Antonio area. Marc Hoenig will provide the play-by-play and Lance Blanks is the analyst. Texas State is third in the country in turnovers forced (19.00) and fourth in scoring defense (57.4 ppg). The Eagles finished their non-conference games with a 20- point victory over Stetson. They are led by Tookie Brown and his 17.3 ppg, 3.8 apg and 43.9 three-point field goal percentage.
Arkansas State (4-7) and Troy (5-6) meet tonight for a 7:30 p.m. CT at the Trojan Arena in Troy, Ala. The game marks the fifth consecutive season in which Arkansas State will open its conference slate on the road. Troy returns to action following a heartbreaking 83-80 loss in overtime at Ole Miss before the holiday break. The Trojans rallied from down 13 points in the second half to force overtime with the Rebels.
The 2016 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship will be held from Mar. 10-13, 2016, at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, La. The top eight teams in the regular season standings will compete for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. All games of the tournament will be televised by ESPN3 with the championship game set for a Noon C.T. tip on Selection Sunday, Mar. 13, and an ESPN2 broadcast.
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RECENT RESULTS
Tuesday, December 22
Texas Tech 65, Little Rock 53
Ole Miss 83, Troy 80
Canisius 108, UL Monroe 96
Georgia Southern 78, Stetson 58
Georgia State 64, Middle Tennessee 62
Arkansas State 77, Central Arkansas 67
South Alabama 74, Rice 67
Wednesday, December 23
Hampton 75, UL Monroe 64
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Wednesday, December 30
Little Rock at South Alabama 7:05 PM CT
Georgia State at UT Arlington 7:15 PM CT
Georgia Southern at Texas State 7:30 PM CT
Arkansas State at Troy 7:30 PM CT
Thursday, December 31
Appalachian State at UL Monroe 2:00 PM CT
Saturday, January 2
Arkansas State at South Alabama 4:05 PM CT
Little Rock at Troy 4:15 PM CT
Georgia State at Texas State 4:30 PM CT
Appalachian State at UL Lafayette 7:15 PM CT
Georgia Southern at UT Arlington 7:15 PM CT
* - Indicates Sun Belt Conference game
(All Times CT)
NEWS AND NOTES
NCAA TOURNAMENT SUCCESS
The Sun Belt Conference begins the 2015-16 season following unprecedented postseason success to last year. Georgia State earned a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and upset No. 3 seed Baylor in the first round. Of the 32 conferences with automatic qualifiers into the tournament the Sun Belt Conference was one of 15 to win a game in the tournament.
POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT PROWESS
The Sun Belt Conference was one of the premier mid-major basketball conferences last season as demonstrated by its postseason success. The league was one of just three (Missouri Valley & Pac-12) where its members earned a win in the NCAA Tournament along with wins in at least two other postseason tournaments. UL Monroe advanced to the final of the College Basketball Invitatinoal (CBI) last year while UL Lafayette reached the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
HISTORIC TV PACKAGE
The Sun Belt Conference has its largest television package ever for men’s and women’s basketball for the 2015-16 season. ESPN3 will carry 99 games during the 2015-16 season to go along with two nationally-televised rivalry games on ESPN2. The two ESPN2 rivalry clashes will be UT Arlington at Texas State on Feb. 9, 2016, and Georgia State at Georgia Southern on Feb. 23, 2016. On-campus productions delivered on ESPN3 offer unique opportunities for students and staff at each Sun Belt Conference member institution in live-game production. ESPN3 is streamed live on WatchESPN platforms across computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices. It is accessible to more than 99 million households to fans with an affiliated internet or video provider.
LITTLE ROCK’S RECORD START
The Trojans nearly finished non-conference play with a perfect record, starting 10-0 before its first loss of the season at Texas Tech on Dec. 22. The 10-game win streak to start the year was the best in program and Sun Belt Conference history. The streak matched a program record, and was the first 10-game winning streak for Little Rock since the 1987-88 season.
LITTLE ROCK IN THE RANKINGS
Little Rock received as many as five votes in the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches polls during its record 10-game winning streak to open the season. It marked the first time a Little Rock team had received votes in the AP Poll since Feb. 1988. Little Rock is ranked No. 33 in the NCAA’s latest RPI release on Dec. 29. The Trojans have spent much of the season inside the top-five nationally, and appeared at No. 1 in Yahoo Sports’ RPI rankings on Sunday, Nov. 29, following its win over Tulsa – its second top-50 RPI victory of the year.
LITTLE ROCK DEFATS MW FAVORITES
Saturday (Nov. 21), the Trojans became just the 12th team and sixth non-Mountain West member to beat the San Diego State in Viejas Arena since 2005. The win was Little Rock’s third-ever over a Mountain West opponent, and first since Colorado State on Nov. 30, 2002.
BATTLE-TESTED WARHAWKS
UL Monroe has played the toughest schedule in the Sun Belt Conference to date, according to NCAA RPI Strength of Schedule rankings. ULM’s strength schedule ranks 72nd in the country and is the only top-100 in the Sun Belt. The Warhawks improved to 4-0 at home this season and 18-4 (.818) at home over the last two years with a win vs. Central Baptist. ULM is 408-173 all-time in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
GEORGIA STATE’S HOME, SWEET HOME
Georgia State is 29-1 in the comfy confines of the GSU Sports Arena since the 2013-14 season, with the only loss coming in double-overtime to Sun Belt Conference member Texas State last year. The Panthers currently ride an 11-game home court winning streak, tied for third-longest in school history and tied for 22nd in the nation.
TROJANS RANK NATIONALLY
Little Rock, one of 19 teams in the country with a mark of 10-1 (.909) or better, continue to lead the nation in scoring defense (54.7 ppg) and rank 11th in defensive field goal percentage (.369).
HISTORIC FOUR-DAY STRETCH
UT Arlington stunned the Memphis Tigers 68-64 on Nov. 23 at FedEx Forum to put the wraps on an impressive two-game sweep over perennial basketball powers. The Mavs were three nights removed from beating Ohio State on the road. UTA improved to 3-1 with the win after withstanding a second-half charge that saw the Tigers rally from 10 points down with a 15-0 run. The Mavericks regrouped down the stretch and claimed their first victory over Memphis in three tries.
MR. DOUBLE-DOUBLE
The Red Wolves are led by junior forward Anthony Livingston who has four double-doubles this season. Livingston was held to seven points at Oregon, just the fourth time in his career he didn’t score 10 or more points. He bounced back with 20 points and five boards at Baylor and with that effort averages 17.3 points and 12.5 rebounds in games following scoring fewer than 10 points.
A SUN BELT MAINSTAY
Head Coach John Brady announced his resignation following the end of the 2015-16 season on Monday. He is in his eighth season at A-State and is five wins shy of 400 victories in his 25 seasons on the bench. Brady holds a record of 395-332 (.543 win pct.) in stops at Samford, LSU and A-State. He is the active leader among Sun Belt Conference coaches in conference victories with 61, one ahead of current UL Monroe head coach Keith Richard.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Shawn Long is the NCAA Division I active leader in both double-doubles (58) and rebounds (1,147). He ranks second among active NCAA Division I players in FG (702) and rebound average (10.4), third in field goal attempts (1,411), fourth in points (1,869) and seventh in blocked shots (227). With three double-doubles in the 2015-16 season, Long has extended his NCAA active lead. Here is a list of the top 10 active leaders in double-doubles in the nation through (Dec. 19):
NAME G D-D
1. Shawn Long, UL Lafayette 110 58
2. Jameel Warney, Stony Brook 111 46
3. Chris Horton, Austin Peay 102 44
4. Egidijus Mockevicius, Evansville 113 39
5. Joel Bolomboy, Weber State 108 38
6. Rico Gathers, Baylor 119 29
7. Josh Scott, Colorado 103 28
8. Devin Thomas, Wake Forest 106 27
Venky Jois, Eastern Washington 100 27
10. Josh Hawkinson, Washington St. 67 26
Kyle Collinsworth, BYU 113 26
LONG SETS ALL-TIME MARK
Shawn Long became the all-time leading rebounder in Ragin’ Cajuns basketball history after pulling down a season-high 14 boards on Friday at SEC opponent Alabama. Long, who recorded his second double-double of the season and NCAA-leading 54th of his career, tipped in a Steven Wronkoski miss with 5:47 remaining to record his 1,065th career rebound and pass former Ragin’ Cajuns standout Roy Ebron (1,064 from 1971-73) as the school’s all-time leader.
ELITE COMPANY
Georgia State has won 25 games in each of the last two seasons, the second-best totals in school history. Only 20 programs in the country have won at least 25 games in each of the last two years. The elite group includes: Kentucky, Duke, Michigan State, Arizona, Gonzaga, Louisville, Wichita State, Kansas, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Virginia, Villanova, VCU, Stephen F. Austin, San Diego State, N.C. Central, Louisiana Tech, SMU and Dayton.
DEFT DEFENSE
ULM has held SBC opponents to under 75 points in 29 straight games including postseason play. It limited UL Lafayette to 70 points to begin conference action this year. ULM went 47 consecutive games overall without allowing a 75-point scoring team which was the second longest in the country. It was snapped at Houston on a jumper with nine seconds left.
HIGH-SCORING CAJUNS
UL Lafayette basketball has a history of high scoring, averaging at least 80 points per game 10 times from 1971 to 1992; however, since then the Cajuns had scored better than 75 points per game just six times entering the 2013-14 campaign. But the last two Ragin’ Cajuns squads have ramped off the offense, scoring 81.0 points per game in 2013-14 (the highest since 1990-91 - 91.1 ppg.) and 77.5 points per game last season to rank 16th nationally. This season’s team is no different as the Ragin’ Cajuns have averaged 88.8 points per game to rank fifth among Division I programs.
BROWN’S CAREER NIGHT
Georgia Southern freshman Tookie Brown scored a career-high 27 points, and Georgia Southern forced 18 Stetson turnovers in a 78-58 men’s basketball victory over the Hatters last week. Brown was 10 of 18 from the field and 3 of 6 from 3-point range for Georgia Southern (4-6) while also dishing out five of the Eagles’ 17 assists.
RED WOLVES TRENDS
A-State has scored 68 or more points in first 11 games of season for first time since 1974-75 season.
CAJUNS RELOADED
UL Lafayette returns all five starters and nine letterwinners from the 2014-15 squad that posted a 22-14 overall record and 13-7 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin’ Cajuns earned a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, falling to eventual champion Evansville, in the quarterfinals at the Blackham Coliseum.
YOUTH IN STATESBORO
Georgia Southern returns just four scholarship letterwinners from last season’s 22-9 team that advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Championship game. With 11-of-12 scholarship student-athletes who are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores (92 percent), Georgia Southern has the highest percentage of underclassmen on its current roster of the 345 NCAA Division I squads. Liberty (91 percent), Ohio State (85 percent), Fairleigh Dickinson (85 percent) and Wyoming (80 percent) round out the top-5. Georgia Southern lost 76 percent of its scoring and 72 percent of its rebounding from last season.
EXPERIENCE BACK IN BOONE
Appalachian State returns 12 student-athletes from last year’s team including four who started a majority of games last season. In all, App State is still a relatively young squad with seven freshmen and six sophomores. The Black and Gold still boasts lots of experience with four juniors and five seniors. A total of five backcourt student-athletes return for the Mountaineers, including Frank Eaves, Chris Burgess, Dustin Clarke, Jake Babic and Landon Goesling. All five student-athletes played in all 29 games last season, while Eaves and Burgess were the only two to make 29 starts. Eaves led the squad in scoring (16.6 ppg), while Burgess provided an offensive spark from the point guard spot with 9.0 ppg.
BOBCATS ROLL IN OPENER
Texas State played all 13 players who dress for the game. Ojai Black scored eight points, while Cameron Naylor and Roberson finished with seven points each. In addition, Bobby Conley and K.J. Malveau added six points and Kendell Ramlal finished with five points and had a game-high four blocked shots. Roberson led Texas State with three assists, while Black, Malveau and Ethan Montalvo added two assists each.
LITTLE ROCK AT HOME
Little Rock is 35-2 in home openers since making the move to Division I in 1978-79. The Trojans’ only losses over that span came against Oklahoma State (Nov. 23, 1999) and North Florida (Nov. 11, 2013).
TROJANS IMPRESS IN BEARD’S DEBUT
The 19-point victory margin against Central Baptist on Saturday (76-57) was the largest for a
Little Rock coach making his debut since John Kincannon in the 1951-52 season (24-point win). New head coach Chris Beard is the 21st head coach in program history and the ninth of its Division I era. Beard comes to Little Rock after two seasons at Angelo State, where he went 47-15 and led ASU to the 2015 NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen and No. 19 national ranking in 2014-15. Beard sports a record of 142-45 (.759) in six-plus seasons as a head coach.
HIGH-FLYING EAGLES
Georgia Southern won a 116-49 win over Webber International in the Eagles’ season opener Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse. It was the first time the Eagles have scored 100 points since a 104-50 home win over Toccoa Falls Nov. 16, 2013, and their most points since a 116-73 victory over UC Davis Nov. 12, 2006, which was the 2006-07 season opener.
HIGH-SCORING CAJUNS
UL Lafayette opened its 103rd season of basketball on Nov. 13 with a convincing 108-68 victory over Louisiana College at the Cajundome. UL Lafayette shot 41-for-69 (59.4 percent) from the floor and held a 48-25 advantage on the glass. The 108 points scored in the contest – tied for the fifth-highest total in a season-opener - marked the 10th time in school history the Ragin’ Cajuns eclipsed the 100-point mark in a season opener.