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

AROUND #SUNBELTMBB
• The 43rd edition of the Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship gets underway this week with 10 teams comprising the tournament field. Lakefront Arena in New Orleans is serving as the primary host for championship games for the seventh time in conference history. Following two first-games at campus sites, the remaining eight teams converge on the Crescent City with their sights on getting a chance to dance in the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

• The first-round, second-round quarterfinal and semifinal games are set for live coverage on ESPN+ with Matt Stewart and Bob Donewald on the call. Sunday’s championship game live on ESPN2 is slated to have Rich Hollenberg and Chris Spatola calling the action courtside. All tournament games are available online and via the WatchESPN app. Live statistics are available on SunBeltSports.org and live postgame press conferences are available on YouTube.com/SunBeltSports.

• The 2018-19 postseason honors for Sun Belt men's basketball were unveiled, headlined by Georgia Southern senior guard Tookie Brown named Player of the Year, Louisiana senior forward JaKeenan Gant named Defensive Player, Coastal Carolina freshman guard DeVante Jones named Freshman of the Year, ULM senior guard Daishon Smith named Newcomer of the Year and UTA head coach Chris Ogden named Coach of the Year.

• Coastal Carolina junior forward Amidou Bamba was named to the 2018-19 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Men’s Basketball Teams, receiving third-team honors, as selected by CoSIDA.

• The Sun Belt’s top team across the major computer rankings – Georgia Southern ranked 121st in the NCAA NET Rankings, 97th in the ESPN Basketball Power Index, 103rd in the Ken Pomeroy Ratings and 111th in the Jeff Sagarin Rankings and Georgia State ranked 58th in the CBS Sports RPI, 59th in the RealTime RPI and 78th in the KPI Rankings. As a conference, the Sun Belt is ranked 16th by the Sagarin Ratings and 17th by the NCAA NET Rankings and RealTime RPI. 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, Georgia State (19th) was ranked with Georgia Southern and Texas State receiving votes.

• Arkansas senior guard Ty Cockfield II and ULM senior guard Daishon Smith are in a unique club. Entering the week, the Sun Belt duo are among just seven players in NCAA Division I to average at least 22.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game this season. Cockfield is averaging 22.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists, while Smith is averaging 22.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Joining Cockfield and Smith in this club are Duke’s R.J. Barrett, Hampton’s Jermaine Marrow, Marquette’s Markus Howard, Murray State’s Ja Morant and Northern Colorado’s Jordan Davis. According to CBB Reference, the only two Sun Belt players to accomplish this statistical feat for a full season since 1992-93 are New Orleans’ Bo McCalebb (2004-05, 2006-07 and 2007-08) and UTPA’s Greg Guy (1992-93). 

• Appalachian State senior guard Ronshad Shabazz joined an exclusive club of his own, becoming just ninth player in Sun Belt men’s basketball history to score 2,000 career points. Shabazz drained a three-pointer at the 2:26 mark of the second half at ULM on Feb. 28 to hit the milestone. He joins Donald Sims as the only players in school history to reach 2,000 career points. Shabazz enters the week ranked eighth all-time in conference history with 2,056 points. He is the second Sun Belt player to hit this plateau this season as Georgia Southern senior guard Tookie Brown did so on Jan. 27 at Troy. Shabazz became the school’s all-time leader in field goals made against Troy on March 7. He enters the week with 709 career field goals made with an even 200 made this season.

• Georgia Southern’s brother-sister duo of senior guard Tookie and junior guard Alexis Brown are lighting it up for the Eagles this season. The top scoring siblings in Division I, Tookie (17.9 points per game) and Alexis (17.4 points per game) are leading their respective teams in scoring. For their careers, the Browns have scored more than 3,100 points - 2,272 for Tookie and 933 for Alexis. Both wear No. 4 jerseys and are majoring in sport management. Tookie is the eighth player in Sun Belt men’s basketball history to eclipse 2,000 career points. He enters the week fourth on the conference’s all-time scoring list behind South Florida’s Charlie Bradley in third with 2,319 points from 1981-85. Among active Division I players, Brown ranks ninth in points, 16th in assists (521) and 21st in steals (196).

• Louisiana senior forward JaKeenan Gant is the only Division I player averaging 20.0 points (20.4), 8.0 rebounds (8.6) and 2.70 blocks (2.70) per game. Gant remains among the nation’s best shot blockers, entering the week ranked sixth in blocks per game and tied for sixth in total blocks (81). He went over 1,000 points in his Louisiana career in the Ragin’ Cajuns regular-season finale at Arkansas State on March 9. Gant (45 points on Jan. 5) and Appalachian State senior guard Ronshad Shabazz (47 points on Feb. 28) are two of 12 Division I players to score 45 or more points in a game this season.

• ULM senior forward Travis Munnings is the 11th player in Sun Belt history to eclipse 900 career rebounds. His 909 boards rank 20th among active Division I players.

• Georgia State junior guard D’Marcus Simonds is averaging 18.1 points per game for his career, which ranks 21st among active NCAA Division I players and leads the Sun Belt. His 627 career field goals made are the most in school history and rank in top 35 among active Division I players.

• Texas State junior guard Nijal Pearson continues to climb the Bobcats’ career lists. He is the program’s all-time leader in games started (100), ranks second in three-point field goals made (174) and sits fifth in points (1,509).

• The two of the Sun Belt’s top five scorers are from the same hometown, Gainesville, Ga. Cockfield went to Johnson High School and imonds went to Gainesville High School.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ty Cockfield II, Arkansas State (Sr., G, Gainesville, Ga.)
Arkansas State senior guard Ty Cockfield II averaged 30.5 points on 47.2 percent shooting (25-of-53) in two games to close out the regular season. Cockfield poured in 26 points in the victory over ULM and dropped 35 points in the overtime loss to Louisiana. His 26 points against the Warhawks tied the game high. He hit the game-tying three-pointer to send the game into overtime against the Ragin’ Cajuns. Adding two more 20-plus point efforts, Cockfield leads the Sun Belt with 20 performances scoring 20 or more points this season. He enters the conference championship tied for the single-season school record for points (695). 

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
January 28: JaKeenan Gant, Louisiana and Trhae Mitchell, South Alabama
February 4: Zac Cuthbertson, Coastal Carolina and Brian Warren, UTA
February 11: Daishon Smith, ULM
February 18: Ty Cockfield II, Arkansas State
February 25: Tookie Brown, Georgia Southern
March 4: Ronshad Shabazz, Appalachian State
March 11: Ty Cockfield II, Arkansas State

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
2019 SUN BELT MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 12 (First Round at Campus Sites)
Game 1 - No. 9 Arkansas State at No. 8 South Alabama (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
Game 2 - No. 10 Appalachian State at No. 7 ULM (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
 
Thursday, March 14 (Second Round at Lakefront Arena)
Game 3 - Game 1 Winner vs. No. 5 Louisiana (ESPN+), 5 p.m.
Game 4 - Game 2 Winner vs. No. 6 Coastal Carolina (ESPN+), 7:30 p.m.
 
Friday, March 15 (Quarterfinals at Lakefront Arena)
Game 5 - Game 3 Winner vs. No. 4 Texas State (ESPN+), 5 p.m.
Game 6 - Game 4 Winner vs. No. 3 Georgia Southern (ESPN+), 7:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 16 (Semifinals at Lakefront Arena)
Game 7 - Game 5 Winner vs. No. 1 Georgia State (ESPN+), 3 p.m.
Game 8 - Game 6 Winner vs. No. 2 UTA (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m.
 
Sunday, March 17 (Championship at Lakefront Arena)
Game 9 - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN2), 1 p.m.

2019 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 17
NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Selection Show (CBS & March Madness Live), 5 p.m.

All Times are Central and Subject to Change