NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference’s 2023-24 men’s basketball campaign delivered a plethora exciting and historic moments well into March. The record books were rewritten on numerous occasions, and the Sun Belt captured the biggest moments from around the league.
MARCH MADNESS: James Madison (32-4, 15-3 SBC) secured the 2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship crown and earned the No. 12 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament, marking the highest seed for a Sun Belt program since 2016. The Dukes became the first Sun Belt team to win an NCAA Tournament game since the 2016 tournament by ousting No. 5 seed and 23rd-ranked Wisconsin, 72-61, in the first round at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Their 11-point margin of victory was the largest by a Sun Belt program in an NCAA Tournament game since the field expanded in 1985. JMU fell to No. 4 seed Duke in the second round.
NIT SELECTION: App State (27-7, 16-2 SBC), the Sun Belt’s outright regular season champion, earned a bid to the 2024 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), marking the third straight season a Sun Belt team competed in the event. The Mountaineers fell at top-seeded Wake Forest in the first round.
CBI CHASE: Arkansas State (20-17, 11-7 SBC) made its first postseason appearance since 1999 as one of 15 teams competing in the 2024 College Basketball Invitational. The Red Wolves defeated Bethune-Cookman and Montana to become the first Sun Belt team to reach the tournament's semifinals since Coastal Carolina in 2021 before falling to top-seeded High Point.
TROJAN TRIFECTA: Troy (20-12, 13-5 SBC) became the only team to win at least 20 games in each of the last three seasons, which also marked the first time in program history the Trojans accomplished the feat.
GOING POLLING: James Madison received votes in the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll as well as the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Additionally, the Sun Belt was featured among the top teams in the final Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll with No. 2 James Madison and No. 10 App State. James Madison was ranked 24th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time in program history on Nov. 13 and became the first Sun Belt Conference team to be listed in the poll in 21 years since former member Western Kentucky was ranked 19th in Nov. 2002. After James Madison ascended to No. 18 in the Dec. 4 AP poll, the Dukes became the highest-ranked Sun Belt team since WKU reached No. 17 on Nov. 26, 2001. When JMU took over the No. 1 spot in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll on Jan. 1, it marked the first time since the 2015-16 season that a school other than Gonzaga topped the poll during the regular season.
WINS RECORD: James Madison broke the Sun Belt Conference's single-season wins record with 32 on the campaign, surpassing the previous standard of 30 wins by Little Rock set during the 2015-16 campaign. Additionally, the Dukes eclipsed 30 wins in a season for the first time in program history.
FLAWLESS FOURTEEN: In 2023-24, James Madison was the only NCAA Division I team with multiple winning streaks of at least 14 games. The Dukes started the season 14-0 and won 14 straight through their NCAA Tournament first round win. The Dukes’ 14-game winning streak to start the season was the longest by a Sun Belt program in the league's 48-year history. The previous best was a 10-0 start to the 2015-16 campaign by Little Rock.
BIG WINS: Sun Belt Conference men's basketball teams recorded four wins against Autonomy 5 programs during the 2023-24 campaign.
| Date |
Game |
Location |
| Nov. 6, 2023 |
James Madison 79, No. 4 Michigan State 76 (OT) |
East Lansing, Mich. |
| Dec. 3, 2023 |
App State 69, Auburn 64 |
Boone, N.C. |
| Dec. 13, 2023 |
Arkansas State 75, Louisville 63 |
Louisville, Ky. |
| March 22, 2024 |
James Madison 72, No. 23 Wisconsin 61 |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
OPENING ACTS: James Madison sent a shockwave across the college basketball landscape on the opening night of the 2023-24 season with a historic road upset, defeating AP preseason No. 4 Michigan State, 79-76, in overtime on Nov. 6. The Dukes became the first team to hand an AP preseason top-five team a loss in a home season opener since 2001. The triumph also marked the first by a Sun Belt Conference team over a top-five opponent since former member Western Kentucky topped No. 3 Louisville in November 2008. James Madison followed up its win over the Spartans with a 113-108 double-overtime road triumph at Kent State, snapping the nation's second longest home winning streak at 23. With the wins at Michigan State and Kent State, JMU became the only NCAA Division I team in the last 30 years to begin a season with consecutive road overtime wins.
NATIONAL LEADERS: Sun Belt teams ranked among the nation’s leaders in numerous statistical categories throughout the season:
| Category |
School |
National Rank |
Statistic |
| Bench Points/Game |
Troy |
14 |
29.50 |
| App State |
22 |
28.44 |
| Blocks/Game |
App State |
1 |
6.8 |
| Fastbreak Points |
Troy |
15 |
14.66 |
| FG Pct. Defense |
App State |
3 |
.389 |
| Fouls Per Game |
App State |
4 |
13.2 |
| Free Throw Att./Game |
Troy |
15 |
23.5 |
| Def. Rebounds/Game |
App State |
2 |
30.68 |
| Coastal Carolina |
10 |
28.94 |
| Off. Rebounds/Game |
Troy |
14 |
13.34 |
| Arkansas St. |
19 |
13.22 |
| ULM |
20 |
13.20 |
| Rebounds/Game |
App State |
5 |
41.65 |
| Coastal Carolina |
11 |
40.32 |
| Scoring Margin |
James Madison |
9 |
13.6 |
| App State |
19 |
11.2 |
| Scoring Offense |
James Madison |
11 |
83.2 |
| Steals/Game |
Troy |
2 |
10.3 |
| 3-Pt. Attempts/Game |
Arkansas St. |
22 |
26.8 |
| Georgia Southern |
24 |
26.4 |
| 3-Pt. Pct. Defense |
Louisiana |
1 |
.276 |
| James Madison |
12 |
.299 |
| Georgia State |
15 |
.300 |
| Turnover Margin |
James Madison |
20 |
3.4 |
| Turnovers Forced/Game |
Troy |
14 |
15.50 |
| Louisiana |
22 |
14.76 |
| Turnovers/Game |
Georgia State |
24 |
9.7 |
Additionally, multiple players were among the nation's best in multiple statistical categories:
| Category |
Name |
School |
National Rank |
Statistic |
| Assists |
Caleb Fields |
Arkansas St. |
19 |
202 |
| Blocks |
Justin Abson |
App State |
3 |
96 |
| Victor Iwuakor |
Southern Miss |
14 |
74 |
| Izaiyah Nelson |
Arkansas St. |
17 |
73 |
| Double-Doubles |
Ginika Ojiako |
Coastal Carolina |
12 |
17 |
| Nate Martin |
Marshall |
18 |
16 |
| Field Goal Pct. |
Ginika Ojiako |
Coastal Carolina |
9 |
.637 |
| T.J. Bickerstaff |
James Madison |
16 |
.619 |
| Tre’Von Spillers |
App State |
19 |
.604 |
| Free Throw Pct. |
Donovan Ivory |
Southern Miss |
21 |
.892 |
| Rebounds/Game |
Ginika Ojiako |
Coastal Carolina |
9 |
10.6 |
| Nate Martin |
Marshall |
16 |
10.1 |
FUSED BY FIELDS: Arkansas State senior guard Caleb Fields became just the fourth player in Sun Belt history to record 600 assists on Feb. 3 in a win over ULM. He finished his career No. 4 on the Sun Belt’s all-time assists list with 678.
CURFMAN’S CALL: Marshall senior guard Kamdyn Curfman tied the Sun Belt Conference tournament’s individual record with nine 3-pointers made against Georgia State on March 7, tying the standard set by Jacksonville’s John Knox against in 1997. Additionally, Curfman moved into sole possession of sixth place on the NCAA’s all-time list for 3-pointers made with 458, passing former Duke standout J.J. Redick.
ACCOLADE ARMORY: Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball players and coaches garnered an array of national recognition through the conclusion of the 2023-24 season:
Lou Henson All-America Team
Terrence Edwards Jr., James Madison
Donovan Gregory, App State
USBWA All-America Watch List
Terrence Edwards Jr., James Madison
Lute Olson Award (Finalist)
Terrence Edwards Jr., James Madison
Lou Henson Award (Finalist)
Terrence Edwards Jr., James Madison
Lefty Driesell Award (Finalist)
Justin Abson, App State
Hugh Durham Award (Finalist)
Mark Byington, James Madison
Dustin Kerns, App State
Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year (Finalist)
Mark Byington, James Madison
Dustin Kerns, App State
Joe B. Hall Award (Finalist)
Bryan Hodgson, Arkansas State
COACHING MILESTONES: A handful of Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball coaches earned milestone victories during the 2023-24 season:
- Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin collected his 600th career win in the Ragin' Cajuns' 78-54 home win over Loyola-New Orleans on Nov. 27. Marlin also collected win No. 250 at Louisiana in the team's Nov. 21 victory over Buffalo. He is one of just five active head coaches with 200 or more victories at two different schools, including their current institution.
- South Alabama head coach Richie Riley collected his 100th win with the Jaguars in the team's 91-74 home victory over Spring Hill College on Dec. 9. Riley is the third coach in program history to achieve the milestone along with Ronnie Arrow and Cliff Ellis.
- James Madison head coach Mark Byington earned his 200th career win in the Dukes' 89-75 road win at Morgan State on Dec. 22.
- Troy head coach Scott Cross notched his 300th career win in the Trojans' 78-74 road win at Georgia State on Feb. 3.
COACHING LEGENDS BID FAREWELL: Coastal Carolina head coach Cliff Ellis announced his retirement in a press conference on December 6. The 2023-24 campaign was Ellis’ 49th overall as a head coach and 17th at Coastal Carolina. He owned a 909-576 (.612) overall record including a 297-227 (.567) mark leading the Chanticleers. His 831 victories at the NCAA Division I level rank ninth all-time. Old Dominion head coach Jeff Jones announced his retirement on February 26. Jones coached 32 seasons while compiling an overall record of 564-434, including a 207-147 mark in 11 seasons with the Monarchs.