NEW ORLEANS – Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball is back in action this weekend with 10 games scheduled.
First-place Coastal Carolina looks to extend its one-game lead in the East Division on the road against South Alabama. In the West Division, first-place Louisiana, 7-3 in the conference, looks to keep its five-game winning streak going as it takes on Arkansas State.
 
THIS WEEK’S MATCHUPS:

Date	Game	Time	Broadcast
Friday, Feb 5	Louisiana at Arkansas State	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Friday, Feb 5	Georgia Southern at Troy	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Friday, Feb 5	Coastal at South Alabama	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Friday, Feb 5	Little Rock at Texas State	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Friday, Feb 5	ULM at UT Arlington	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb 6	ULM at UT Arlington	4 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb 6	Louisiana at Arkansas State	4 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb 6	Coastal at South Alabama	4 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb 6	Little Rock at Texas State	4 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb 6	Georgia Southern at Troy	4 p.m.	ESPN+

(All times listed are Central)
 

• Little Rock’s Ruot Monyyong has 11 double-doubles on the year, which is tied for first in the NCAA. Arkansas State’s Norchad Omier ranks sixth in the NCAA with nine double-doubles.
• Coastal Carolina’s 83.9 points per game rank ninth in the NCAA. Georgia State, moves up to 12th with 83.1 points per game.
• Coastal Carolina ranks 12th in the NCAA in steals per game with 9.2. 

 
Link to 2020-21 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Stats 
 
EAST DIVISION:

APP STATE (12-7, 6-4 SBC) at GEORGIA STATE (8-4, 2-3 SBC)
(POSTPONED)
 
GEORGIA SOUTHERN (11-8, 5-5 SBC) at TROY (9-9, 3-5 SBC)

• The Eagles are 12-4 in the all-time series and 4-2 when playing at Troy. Georgia Southern has an eight-game winning streak and has a record of 8-2.
• Georgia Southern, who is averaging 73.4 points on offense, faces Troy’s third-ranked scoring defense (67.1) in the league this weekend. The Eagles won with an average of 65.0 points for the series.
• The Eagles’ Zack Bryant leads the team in scoring (13.8) and is 45-of-55 (.818) for foul shots this season.  Against Troy, he tallied 29 total points (14.5) with a series-high 17 points on Jan. 16. Eric Boone ranks second on the team in points (11.2), first in three-pointers made (26), first in assists (55), and first in steals (42). In his last two games, he averaged 11.5 points while finishing as the leading scorer (17) on Jan. 29 against Coastal.
• Troy’s Kam Wood’s 15.1 points per game in conference-only matches ranks seventh in the league. Overall, he is averaging 12.1 points on the season. Against Georgia Southern, he is averaging 17.5 points while shooting 12-of-32 (.375). Trojan Zay Williams is the only player to start all 18 games this season and is second on the team in overall points (11.8), and first in blocks (21). Williams had a season-high 24 points against the Eagles on Jan. 16 as the team fell, 63-56.

 
COASTAL CAROLINA (12-4, 6-3 SBC) at SOUTH ALABAMA (9-8, 3-5 SBC)

• Coastal Carolina leads the series with an 8-4 record and is 2-1 in its last three games.
• The first-place Chanticleers’ scoring offense (83.9) faces Troy’s third-ranked scoring defense, holding opponents to 66.8 points per game.  Coastal has 677 rebounds. The Chants have 217 offensive rebounds.
• Essam Mostafa has been the Coastal leader in rebounds, (8.9) ranking fifth in the conference. He is averaging 11.3 points on the season.
• The leading scorer for Coastal, DeVante Jones, is averaging 21.9 points this season and 20.8 points per game in conference play. He is shooting a .511 (115-of-225) from the field, .427 (38-of-89) from three and .883 (83-of-94) from the foul line.  Against South Alabama, he had 25.5 points and tallied 28 points in an 83-69 win on Jan. 9.
• Michael Flowers of South Alabama averages 22.1 points, and started all 17 games this season. On Jan. 9 versus Coastal, he had a team-high of 29 points, averaging 22.5 points in the series.  He leads the team in field goals made (120), three-pointers made (58) and foul shots made. (78)
• South Alabama has forced 257 turnovers, while stealing 135 of them. Their opponents have given them 122 extra possessions.

 
WEST DIVISION:
 
LOUISIANA (13-4, 7-3 SBC) at ARKANSAS STATE (6-9, 3-5 SBC)

• The Ragin’ Cajuns are 56-26 all-time and 51-25 since both teams joined the Sun Belt. Louisiana is 21-17 and is 3-3 in its last six games against Arkansas State.  The Cajuns have a 4-0 streak in their last games against the Red Wolves.
• Louisiana enters this week as the conference’s leader in blocks (88) and blocks per game (5.2). Theo Akwuba’s 53 rebounds are a team-high. He is also averaging 11.1 points this season.
• This week’s Player of the Week, Cedric Russell of Louisiana ranks first on the team in averaging 17.9 points per game, field goals made (105), three-pointers made (48) and free throws made (47). Jan. 22 versus Arkansas State, he tied his season-high of 26 points for the second time this season. For the series, he averaged 20.0 points and finished as the leading scorer in both games.
• Arkansas State has three players averaging 11 or more points this season with Norchad Omier leading the way with his 13.2 points per game. He is averaging a double-double in points and rebounds (12.3) this season. In his games against Louisiana, Omier averaged 14.0 points with a double-double in points (15) and rebounds (13) on Jan. 23.
• Marquis Eaton is the lead scorer with (13.3) in conference-only games this season with a season-high of 18 points in an 83-75 overtime win against UTA on Jan. 29.

 
LITTLE ROCK (10-7, 6-4 SBC) at TEXAS STATE (11-6, 5-3 SBC)

• Little Rock has outrebounded its opponents 610 to 539 this year and is averaging 35.4 rebounds. Rout Monyyong is averaging 11.1 rebounds and ranks second in the conference. He is averaging 12.9 points which give him a double-double in points and rebounds. Against Texas State, he averaged a double-double in points (12) and rebounds (10) for the two-games.
• The Trojans lead scorer is Markquis Nowell. He is averaging 14.9 points. In his last three games, he averaged 17.3 points with a high of 19 against UTA on Jan. 23.
• Texas State ranks second in the Sun Belt in scoring defense (63.0) has forced 264 turnovers while stealing 116 of them. Shelby Adams has the team-high with 24 of them.
• The Bobcats are led in scoring by Mason Harrell, who is averaging 13.7 points and dominates in field goals made (84) and assists (49). Caleb Asberry ranks second on the team in scoring with 12.7 points per game and against Little Rock he averaged 20.5 points. He finished with a game-high 23 points on Jan 16 against the Trojans.

 
ULM (4-13, 2-8 SBC) at UT ARLINGTON (9-9, 5-5 SBC)

• ULM leads the all-time series 51-24, but the Mavericks have won the last five in a row. UTA is 8-2 in the last ten games.
• ULM’s Russell Harrison leads the team in scoring (13.7) and rebounds (5.5). His 13.7 points per game rank him tied for 13th in the league. Josh Nicholas in conference-only games is averaging 10.9 points per game. Earlier this season against UTA, he averaged 21 points throughout the series. He finished both games with a team-high 23 points on Jan. 8.
• Shahada Wells leads the Mavericks and ranks fourth in the league in scoring with 16.6 points per game. In conference-only games, he is averaging 18 points. On Jan. 8 versus ULM, he finished with 25 points that helped UTA to a 77-64 win.
• UTA has 212 offensive rebounds this season with Fredelin De La Cruz leading the team with 48 offensive rebounds. He has a team-high of 102 rebounds this season and is averaging six rebounds per game.

SUN BELT PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Week 1 – Justin Roberts, Georgia State
Week 2 – Markquis Nowell, Little Rock
Week 3 – Adrian Delph, App State
Week 4 – DeVante' Jones, Coastal Carolina
Week 5 – Corey Allen, Georgia State
Week 6 – Ben Coupet Jr., Little Rock
Week 7 – Rout Monyyong., Little Rock
Week 8 – Caleb Asberry, Texas State
Week 9 – DeVante' Jones, Coastal Carolina
Week 10 – Cedric Russell, Louisiana

SUN BELT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
The Sun Belt Conference Tournament moves to Pensacola, Florida this March with all 12 teams competing in the single-elimination tournament. The tournament will be played March 5-8 at both Pensacola State Community College and the Pensacola Bay Center. Pensacola will serve as home to the tournament through the 2024-25 season.