2018-19 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Weekly News and Notes:
Week 12 Release (PDF) | Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats | Media Guide

AROUND #SUNBELTMBB
• Sun Belt men’s basketball rolls on with 12 conference tilts on the schedule this week. ESPN+ is set to provide live coverage of 11 games, including all six Jan. 24 matchups.

• Texas State was among the teams receiving votes in this week’s USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll. The Bobcats earned the two votes after moving into a first-place tie with Georgia State atop the Sun Belt standings with identical 5-1 conference records. The league leaders meet on Jan. 24 at the GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta. The Bobcats enter the game having won 12 of their last 13 games, with the lone loss being a 73-69 setback against Georgia State on Jan. 5 in San Marcos. The Panthers have won nine of their last 11 games and had their seven-game winning streak snapped in a 77-75 loss at Troy on Jan. 19.

• ULM (8-0) and Georgia State (7-0) are two of 34 NCAA Division I teams undefeated at home this season. ULM’s loss home loss was an 83-79 defeat to Arkansas State on March 3, 2018. Georgia State’s last home loss was an 83-70 loss to Troy on March 1, 2018.

• The start of conference play for Sun Belt men’s basketball has already featured a number of close contests. Of the 34 league games played so far, 17 have been decided by six points or less. 

• The Sun Belt’s top team across the major computer rankings – Georgia State ranked 42nd in the CBS Sports RPI and 121st in the Jeff Sagarin Rankings and Texas State ranked 90th in the ESPN Basketball Power Index, 105th in the NCAA NET Rankings and 100th in the Ken Pomeroy Ratings. The Sagarin Rankings has the Sun Belt ranked 17th as a conference. Sun Belt teams combined for a .500 or better record against 11 other Division I conferences during the regular season.

• In the latest CollegeInsider.com Men’s Mid-Major Top 25, Texas State (17th) and Georgia State (20th) were ranked with Georgia Southern, ULM and Louisiana receiving votes.

• Georgia Southern senior guard Tookie Brown is just the eighth player in Sun Belt history to eclipse 2,000 career points. Brown surpassed the milestone with a three-pointer from the top of the key at the 18:14 mark in the first half at Troy on Jan. 17. He enters the week seventh on the conference’s all-time scoring list with 2,043 points and sits 20 points behind Troy’s Wesley Person in sixth with 2,063 from 2014-18.

• ULM senior forward Travis Munnings is the 20th player in Sun Belt history to record 800 career rebounds. His 805 boards rank 19th among active Division I players.

• Arkansas State senior guard Ty Cockfield II is one of 11 players nationally to average 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game so far this season. Georgia State’s D’Marcus Simonds in 2017-18 and New Orleans’ Bo McCalebb in 2004-05 are the only Sun Belt players to average such over a full season.

• Louisiana senior forward JaKeenan Gant is the only NCAA Division I player averaging at least 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocks per game this season. He remains among the nation’s best shot blockers, entering the week ranked sixth in blocks per game (3.06) and total blocks (52). His 45-point, 11-rebound effort against Little Rock on Jan. 5 marked the sixth time this season a Division I player notched a 40-point, 10-rebound game. Gant is averaging 30.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in Sun Belt play.

• Appalachian State junior forward Isaac Johnson has posted eight double-digit rebound performances season and currently leads the Sun Belt in rebounding at 8.9 per game.

• Sun Belt men’s and women’s basketball programs are once again participating in Coaches vs. Cancer Suits & Sneakers Week. All 12 schools are participating in games from Jan. 17-26. 

• Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter is once again competing in the INFINITI “Timeout For the Win” Challenge. This year, Hunter is one of 48 basketball coaches taking a “TIMEOUT FOR THE WIN” (#TIMEOUTFTW) to defeat cancer by raising one million dollars for Coaches vs. Cancer through various donation methods, activations and events. Through March 11, fans can vote for their favorite coach via INFINITITIMEOUT.com or social media (Twitter and Instagram). There are three required elements to trigger a social media vote – post a back and white picture of yourself taking a basketball timeout and include the hashtags #TIMEOUTFTW and #CoachRonHunter in your social media copy. The three coaches with the most votes will receive a portion of INFINITI’s $600,000 donated in their name to the American Cancer Society.

• The 2019 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship is set for March 12 and 14-17. The tournament begins on Tuesday, March 12, with two first-round games taking place at on-campus sites. The remaining eight teams converge on Lakefront Arena in New Orleans starting on Thursday, March 14, with the winner earning the league’s automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. First-round, second-round, quarterfinal and semifinal games are set for live coverage on ESPN+. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, March 17 at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jordon Varnado, Troy (Sr., F, Brownsville, Tenn.)
Troy senior forward Jordon Varnado led all scorers, dropping 32 points in back-to-back games against Georgia Southern and Georgia State. Varnado’s 32 points tied his career high and marked the third game this season he scored 30 or more points. Varnado made 12 field goals in each game, which also tied his career high. Against Georgia Southern, he posted his fifth double-double of the season with 32 points and 10 rebounds. Against Georgia State, Varnado shot a blistering 75 percent (12-of-16) from the field, including hitting the game-winning three-pointer to hand the Panthers their first Sun Belt Conference loss. Over both games, Varnado shot 64.9 percent (24-of-37) from the field and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from behind the three-point arc. The Brownsville, Tenn., native enters the week ranked third in the conference averaging 20.6 points per game.

2018-19 Weekly Award Winners
November 13: D'Marcus Simonds, Georgia State
November 20: Tookie Brown, Georgia Southern
November 27: Nijal Pearson, Texas State
December 3: Nijal Pearson, Texas State
December 10: Alonzo Sule, Texas State
December 17: Ty Cockfield II, Arkansas State
January 7: Daishon Smith, ULM
January 14: JaKeenan Gant, Louisiana
January 21: Jordon Varnado, Troy

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thursday, January 24
*UTA at Georgia Southern (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
*Texas State at Georgia State (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
*Coastal Carolina at Little Rock (ESPN+), 6:30 p.m.
*Appalachian State at Arkansas State (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
*South Alabama at Louisiana (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
*Troy at ULM (ESPN+), 7 p.m.

Saturday, January 26
*UTA at Georgia State (ESPN+), Noon
*South Alabama at ULM (ESPN+), 2 p.m.
*Appalachian State at Little Rock (ESPN+), 3 p.m.
*Coastal Carolina at Arkansas State (ESPN+), 4 p.m.
*Texas State at Georgia Southern, 4 p.m.
*Troy at Louisiana (ESPN+), 7 p.m.

*Sun Belt Conference contest
All Times are Central and Subject to Change