2019-20 Sun Belt Men's Basketball News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats  
 
AROUND #SUNBELTMBB
• A busy week of early-season tournament games highlights the schedule for Sun Belt Conference men's basketball this week.
 
• Coming off two road games against Duke (ranked No. 2 in Associated Press Top 25 Poll at the time, now ranked No. 1 both polls) and Georgetown (receiving votes in the AP Poll at the time), Georgia State closes out play in the 2K Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project with two games in Riverside, Calif. In the Panthers' first four games, junior forward Josh Linder has recorded two double-doubles – 19 points, 12 rebounds at College of Charleston and 17 points, 11 rebounds at Georgetown.
 
• UTA plays its second ranked opponent on the road this week at No. 8 Gonzaga on Nov. 19 in a Battle 4 Atlantis mainland bracket matchup. The Mavericks dropped their first game in the tournament at then-No. 14 Oregon on Nov. 17. UTA has had a different leading scorer every game this season and that does not last year’s leading scorer Brian Warren (15.4 points per game in 2018-19), who is averaging 8.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists this season.
 
• Georgia Southern and South Alabama were among the teams receiving votes in this week's CollegeInsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top 25.

• Arkansas State sits atop the standings at 4-1 after winning three straight in the Red Wolves Classic, the first in-season tournament hosted at home since the 1993-94 Runnin' Joe Classic. Three Red Wolves have already combined for four double-doubles this season, a marked improvement over four combining eight double-doubles last season.
 
• Appalachian State junior guard Justin Forrest leads NCAA Division I in free throws made (33) and free throws attempted (45) and Coastal Carolina sophomore guard Ebrima Dibba is tied for first nationally in free throw percentage (1.000, 11-of-11). Forrest also ranks ninth nationally in field goal attempts (89).
 
• As a team, the Mountaineers are first nationally in free throw attempts (145) and tied for sixth in free throws made (91).
 
• South Alabama redshirt senior forward Trhae Mitchell, the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year, is making an impact on the defensive end of the floor so this season ranking first in the conference and 13th nationally in blocks per game (3.0).

• Mitchell, Georgia Southern redshirt senior guard Ike Smith and Texas State senior guard Nijal Pearson were among the preseason picks on the watch list for the 2019-20 Lou Henson Award, presented annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major player.

• 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 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 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.

• 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.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Markquis Nowell, Little Rock (So., G, Harlem, N.Y.)
Little Rock sophomore guard Markquis Nowell sparked the Trojans to a pair of wins over Southwest Baptist and Central Arkansas. Nowell nearly posted a triple-double in the victory over Central Arkansas with 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals, playing all 40 minutes. He poured in 20 points with five rebounds, career-high five steals and four assists in 39 minutes played in the win over Southwest Baptist. Nowell leads the league in scoring (21.3 points per game) and ranks fourth in NCAA Division I in minutes per game (39.8), having played in 159 of Little Rock's 160 minutes. His weekly honor marks the first Sun Belt Player of the Week honor for the Trojans since Josh Hagins on Dec. 15, 2015.
 
2019-20 Weekly Award Winners
November 12: Josh Ajayi, South Alabama
November 19: Markquis Nowell, Little Rock

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, November 19
Mercer at Georgia Southern (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
Spring Hill at South Alabama (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
1-UTA at Gonzaga, 8 p.m.
 
Wednesday, November 20
3-Little Rock at Memphis (ESPN3), 7 p.m.
Troy at Texas A&M (SEC Network Plus), 7 p.m.
Arkansas State at Colorado State, 8 p.m.
2-Texas State at UNLV (Stadium), 9 p.m.
 
Thursday, November 21
Charlotte at Appalachian State (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
4-Utah at Coastal Carolina (ESPNews), 6 p.m.
5-Louisiana at Wyoming (Mountain West Network), 8 p.m.
 
Friday, November 22
4-Baylor/Ohio at Coastal Carolina, 4/6 p.m.
6-Georgia State vs. Prairie View A&M (FloHoops), 6:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, November 23
3-Little Rock at North Carolina State (ACC Network Extra), Noon
Troy at Samford (ESPN3), 2 p.m.
6-Georgia State vs. Central Arkansas/California Baptist (FloHoops), 6:30/9 p.m.
 
Sunday, November 24
4-TBD at Coastal Carolina, 9:30 a.m./4 p.m.
Arkansas Tech at UTA (ESPN+), 1 p.m.
 
Monday, November 25
7-South Alabama vs. Northeastern (FloHoops), 10 a.m.
5-Louisiana vs. Detroit Mercy (FloHoops), 2 p.m.
2-Abilene Christian at Texas State (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
Troy at Alabama A&M, 7 p.m.

All Times are Central and Subject to Change 

KEY:
1-Battle 4 Atlantis (Mainland), Elon, N.C.
2-Southwestern Showdown Presented by Engage TeleHealth
3-Barclays Center Classic
4-Myrtle Beach Invitational, Conway, S.C.
5-MGM Resorts Main Event, Las Vegas, Nev.
6-2K Empire Classic benefitting Wounded Warrior Project, Riverside, Calif.
7-Gulf Coast Showcase, Estero, Fla.