NEW ORLEANS – The 2025-26 Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball league schedule hits the halfway point with a full slate of midweek games on Wednesday and Thursday, January 21-22, before a full docket of weekend games slated for Friday and Saturday. All 14 contests will be available on ESPN+.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
GAME OF THE WEEK: The Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Game of the Week features the lone regular season meeting between Troy (13-6, 6-1 SBC) and host Georgia Southern (13-7, 5-2 SBC) on Saturday afternoon. The first-place Trojans currently lead the conference in the NCAA’s latest NET rankings at No. 104, while the Eagles begin the week alone in second place in the league’s standings. The matchup represents a clash between two of the conference’s highest-scoring offenses this season with Troy ranking first (86.9 PPG) and Georgia Southern second (83.4). Additionally, the Trojans are first in total 3-pointers made (201) while the Eagles are second (193). Through eight conference games, Georgia Southern leads the league in scoring (84.9) and Troy is third (83.3).
 
COASTAL SURGE: Coastal Carolina (11-9, 4-4 SBC) returns home following a successful two-game road trip which included huge wins at Marshall on Jan. 14 (85-83) and at Georgia Southern on Jan. 17 (79-75, OT) to hand the Thundering Herd just their second home loss in 11 games this season before ending the Eagles’ 11-game home winning streak dating back to last season. The Chanticleers lead the Sun Belt with six road wins on the campaign and are now riding a three-game winning streak heading into a two-game homestand against Texas State (Jan. 22) and Southern Miss (Jan. 24). During the streak, a three-headed scoring monster comprising junior guard A.J. Dancler, redshirt junior guard RaSheed Jones and graduate guard Joshua Beadle has given the Chants an edge on their opponents. Dancler scored 26 points at Marshall followed by 20 points at Georgia Southern last week, while Jones poured in 28 points in the same contest at Georgia Southern. Meanwhile, Beadle has scored at least 17 points in eight of Coastal’s last nine games, including three 20-point performances highlighted by a 25-point outing against App State (Jan. 10) and a 26-point outburst at Marshall.
 
PANTHERS PROSPER: Georgia State (7-12, 4-3 SBC) has won back-to-back games and three of its last four after cruising to a 77-57 road win at ULM on Jan. 17. The victory came after an 81-73 home win over Marshall on Jan. 10 and an 89-71 road win over Coastal Carolina on Jan. 3. Redshirt sophomore guard Jelani Hamilton has been a force during the Panthers’ rise and has scored in double-figures in nine-straight games including a 23-point effort in the win over Marshall before flirting with a triple-double comprising 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to go with five steals in the win at ULM on Jan. 17. Additionally, junior guard Malachi Brown has found a consistent stroke from beyond the arc with at least three 3-pointers in three of the Panthers’ last four games, including six made treys at ULM last time out.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DOWD: Troy junior forward and preseason All-Sun Belt First Team choice Thomas Dowd leads the conference and ranks No. 8 nationally with 10 double-doubles this season and has accomplished the feat four times in the Trojans’ last five games. Dowd is also the only player in the league averaging a double-double this season with 15.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, as his 193 total rebounds rank No. 6 in the country. Additionally, Dowd is shooting 49.5 percent from the field (No. 6 in Sun Belt) and 40.5 percent from 3-point range this season (No. 3 in Sun Belt).
 
DEFENSE ON DISPLAY: Marshall (12-7, 4-3 SBC) hosts South Alabama (13-6, 4-3 SBC) in the lone regular season matchup between the teams Saturday afternoon for a contest that comprises some of the conference’s top defensive metrics from team and individual standpoints. The Thundering Herd lead the Sun Belt and rank 16th nationally in blocks per game (5.3) behind conference leader and graduate center Matt Van Komen’s 2.4 per contest. Meanwhile, the Jaguars are No. 1 nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (11.5) and No. 4 in field goal percentage defense (.379) while ranking in the top 50 in the country in turnover margin (+3.0).
 
PARTY IN PENSACOLA: The 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve will be held March 3-9, 2026 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla., The championship game will be televised nationally on ESPN or ESPN2 on Monday, March 9 at 6 p.m. (CT). The 2026 tournament will mark the sixth consecutive season the Sun Belt hosts the event in Pensacola, which will remain at the venue through the 2029-30 campaign. A different program has been crowned champion in each of the first five years in Pensacola: Troy (2025), James Madison (2024), Louisiana (2023), Georgia State (2022) and App State (2021).

IMPACT PLAYERS – Sun Belt Statistical Leaders
Points Per Game: Chaze Harris, South Alabama (18.1)
Rebounds Per Game: Thomas Dowd, Troy (10.2)
Assists Per Game: Jalen Speer, Marshall (5.7)
Blocks Per Game: Matt Van Komen, Marshall (2.4)
Steals Per Game: Kaden Gumbs, Texas State (2.1)
Field Goal Percentage: D.J. Hall, Texas State (.552)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: Cobi Campbell, Troy (.444)


 WHERE TO WATCH

Date	Time	Matchup	ESPN+
Weds., Jan. 21	6:00 p.m.	Troy at Old Dominion	ESPN+
Thurs., Jan. 22	11:00 a.m.	ULM at Marshall	ESPN+
Thurs., Jan. 22	11:00 a.m.	Louisiana at App State	ESPN+
Thurs., Jan. 22	6:00 p.m.	Arkansas State at Georgia Southern	ESPN+
Thurs., Jan. 22	6:00 p.m.	South Alabama at James Madison	ESPN+
Thurs., Jan. 22	6:00 p.m.	Texas State at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Thurs., Jan. 22	6:00 p.m.	Southern Miss at Georgia State	ESPN+
Friday, Jan. 23	11:00 a.m.	ULM at App State	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 24	11:00 a.m.	South Alabama at Marshall	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 24	12:00 p.m.	Texas State at James Madison	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 24	12:00 p.m.	Southern Miss at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 24	1:00 p.m.	Arkansas State at Georgia State	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 24	2:00 p.m.	Troy at Georgia Southern	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 24	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana at Old Dominion	ESPN+

All Times CT