2019-20 Sun Belt Men's Basketball News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats  
 
AROUND #SUNBELTMBB
• Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball tips off its 44th season with eight teams in action on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
 
• Entering the 2019-20 season, five teams return three or more starters – UTA (5), Appalachian State (4), Little Rock (4), Georgia Southern (3) and South Alabama (3).

• The Sun Belt is slated to showcase a record 341 games on the ESPN family of networks – 327 regular-season home games (172 men and 151 women) and 18 Sun Belt Basketball Championship games (nine men and nine women). The men's schedule is highlighted by three matchups on ESPN2 – South Alabama at Troy on Friday, Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. CT, Texas State at UTA on Friday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. CT and the Sun Belt Championship title on Sunday, March 15 at 1 p.m. CT.
 
• The Sun Belt pulled in numerous national preseason honors and recognitions, headlined by South Alabama recognized as the conference's preseason favorite by multiple publications.

• The Jaguars were selected by the conference's 12 head coaches as the preseason favorite as well to go along with South Alabama redshirt senior forward Trhae Mitchell selected as the league's Preseason Player of the Year.

• Sun Belt men’s basketball has three new head coaches roaming the sidelines this season – Appalachian State's Dustin Kerns, Georgia State's Rob Lanier and Troy's Scott Cross.

• Former Louisiana standout Elfrid Payton opened the NBA season as the lone former Sun Belt standout on the league’s active opening-night rosters. The conference has a trio of alumni roaming the sidelines for the upcoming season with Appalachian State's Alvin Gentry (head coach, New Orleans Pelicans), UTA’s Kaleb Canales (assistant coach, New York Knicks) and South Alabama’s Dale Osbourne (assistant coach, Portland Trail Blazers).

• The first Sun Belt men’s basketball Player of the Week award will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The season’s first four weekly awards will be announced on Tuesdays and then will move to Mondays beginning Monday, Dec. 9.

• The 2020 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship is set to feature a 10-team bracket with first-round games on Saturday, March 7, second-round games on Monday, March 9 and quarterfinal games on Wednesday, March 11 hosted by the higher seeds on campus sites. The four men's teams that advance from the quarterfinals will then converge on New Orleans and the Smoothie King Center, home of the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans, for semifinals games on Saturday, March 14 and championship game on Sunday, March 15. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive byes directly to the semifinals. First-round, second-round, quarterfinal and semifinal games are set for live coverage on ESPN+. The championship game is set for Sunday, March 15 at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, November 5
Appalachian State at Michigan (BTN), 6 p.m.
Campbell at Coastal Carolina (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
Little Rock at Missouri State (ESPN3), 7 p.m.
Loyola (La.) at Louisiana (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
Louisiana College at ULM (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
UT Dallas at UTA (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
Texas Lutheran at Texas State (ESPN+), 7:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern at Auburn (SEC Network), 8 p.m.
 
Wednesday, November 6
Brewton-Parker at Georgia State (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
1-Arkansas-Monticello at Arkansas State, 7 p.m.
Pikeville at South Alabama (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
 
Thursday, November 7
UAB at Troy (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
Ferrum at Appalachian State (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
 
Friday, November 8
Arkansas State at Ole Miss (SEC Network Plus), 6 p.m.
Hampden-Sydney at Coastal Carolina, 6:30 p.m.
Reinhardt at Georgia Southern, 7 p.m.
 
Saturday, November 9
Alcorn State at ULM, 11 a.m.
Georgia State at College of Charleston, 1 p.m.
Texas State at Air Force (Mountain West Network), 3 p.m.
Tulsa at UTA (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
McNeese at Louisiana (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
Southern Miss at South Alabama (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
 
Sunday, November 10
Little Rock at Illinois State (ESPN3), 3 p.m.
 
Monday, November 11
Georgia Southern at North Florida (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
ULM at Texas A&M (SEC Network Plus), 7 p.m.

All Times are Central and Subject to Change 

KEY:
1-Red Wolves Classic, Jonesboro, Ark.