2017-18 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Weekly News and Notes:
Week 18 Release (PDF) | Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats | Championship Information
#FUNBELT FACTS
• The 2018 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship returns to New Orleans for the sixth time – 2002 and 2014-18.
• The first-round, quarterfinal and semifinal games of the Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship are set for live coverage on ESPN3 with Sunday’s championship game slated for live coverage on ESPN2. All games will be available on the WatchESPN app.
• Louisiana senior guard Frank Bartley IV is one of 12 players from Division I schools in the states of Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas named to the 2017-18 U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District VII Team.
• Another memorable season of Sun Belt men’s basketball was capped by the unveiling of the 2017-18 postseason honors, highlighted by Georgia State sophomore guard D’Marcus Simonds named Player of the Year, Louisiana junior forward JaKeenan Gant named Defensive Player and Newcomer of the Year, ULM freshman guard Michael Ertel named Freshman of the Year and Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin named Joe Gottfried Coach of the Year in a vote by the league’s 12 head coaches and selected media panel..
• Of the 108 regular-season conference games played, 46 were decided by six points or less.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tookie Brown, Georgia Southern (Jr., Guard)
Georgia Southern junior guard Tookie Brown averaged 23.0 points, 8.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds in a season-finale sweep that solidified the Eagles' No. 3 seed for the 2018 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Championship.
Brown scored 28 points vs. Troy on March 3 to close the regular season, the 39th time in his career with 20-plus points. He is the only player under six feet tall among the top 100 nationally in field goal percentage, ranked 63rd at 53.8 percent. This is his second Player of the Week honor this season and the fourth of his career.
For the season, Brown is averaging 18.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
2017-18 Players of the Week
Nov. 15: Ike Smith, Georgia Southern
Nov. 21: Erick Neal, UTA
Nov. 28: Justin Forrest, Appalachian State and Frank Bartley, Louisiana
Dec. 05: Kevin Hervey, UTA
Dec. 12: Tookie Brown, Georgia Southern
Jan. 02: Rodrick Sikes, South Alabama
Jan. 08: D'Marcus Simonds, Georgia State
Jan. 15: Alex Hicks, Troy
Jan. 23: Josh Ajayi, South Alabama
Jan. 29: D'Marcus Simonds, Georgia State
Feb. 05: Devin Mitchell, Georgia State
Feb. 12: Sam McDaniel, ULM
Feb. 19: Travis Munnings, ULM
Feb. 26: Erick Neal, UTA
Mar. 04: Tookie Brown, Georgia Southern
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Sun Belt Championship
Wednesday, March 7 (First Round)
Game 1 – #9 Texas State vs. #8 Coastal Carolina (ESPN3), 11:30 AM
Game 2 – #12 Little Rock vs. #5 Appalachian State (ESPN3), 2:00 PM
Game 3 – #10 South Alabama vs. #7 Troy (ESPN3), 5:00 PM
Game 4 – #11 Arkansas State vs. #6 ULM (ESPN3), 7:30 PM
Friday, March 9 (Quarterfinals)
Game 5 – Game 1 Winner vs. #1 Louisiana (ESPN3), 11:30 AM
Game 6 – Game 2 Winner vs. #4 UTA (ESPN3), 2:00 PM
Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. #2 Georgia State (ESPN3), 5:00 PM
Game 8 – Game 4 Winner vs. #3 Georgia Southern (ESPN3), 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 10 (Semifinals)
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (ESPN3), 11:30 AM
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN3), 2:00 PM
Sunday, March 11 (Championship)
Game 11 - Championship Game (ESPN2), 1:00 PM
Selection Show
Sunday, March 11
NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Selection Show (TBS), 5:00 PM