NEW ORLEANS – The third week of Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball league play features a half-dozen midweek games ignited by a rematch of the 2025 championship game on Wednesday, January 7 before a full seven-game docket headlined by a nationally-televised matchup on Saturday, January 10. All 13 contests will be available on ESPN+.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH: Arkansas State (10-5, 2-1 SBC) hosts Troy (10-5, 3-0 SBC) in a rematch of last season’s Sun Belt championship game for the first of two scheduled meetings in 2026. The teams split two tightly contested regular season matchups last season - en route to both teams earning a share of the league’s regular season crown - where the road team escaped with a win, before the Trojans used a furious second-half rally to upend the Red Wolves, 94-81, in the title game in Pensacola, Fla. Entering Wednesday night’s game, Troy currently leads the conference in the NCAA’s NET rankings at No. 126 while Arkansas State is close behind at No. 133. The matchup pits two of the Sun Belt’s top offenses up against one another as the Trojans (86.5 PPG) lead the conference in scoring while the Red Wolves (83.1 PPG) are third.
 
GAME OF THE WEEK: The Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Game of the Week will be televised on ESPNU at 1 p.m. (CT) on Saturday for the lone regular season meeting between first-place Georgia Southern (12-5, 4-0 SBC) and reigning conference co-champion South Alabama (11-5, 2-2 SBC) in Mobile, Ala. Through four league games, the Eagles lead the conference in scoring (90.3 PPG) and rebounding (41.5 RPG), while the Jaguars are first in field goal percentage defense (.372) and third in scoring defense (69.0 PPG). South Alabama senior guard Chaze Harris (22.5 PPG) leads all players in scoring in conference play, as Harris and Georgia Southern graduate guard Tyren Moore are averaging 2.5 steals per game at the defensive end of the court.
 
SPLIT OR SWEEP?: Three midweek games on Thursday evening are second meetings between Sun Belt foes early in the league slate as teams seek splits and sweeps of their regular season series after initial meetings on Saturday, December 20. Georgia State hosts App State after securing a 70-63 road win over the Mountaineers, while Coastal Carolina aims for a sweep over Old Dominion at home following a 76-74 victory over the Monarchs. Additionally, Louisiana hosts ULM following a 76-62 road victory in Monroe. Southern Miss completed the first series sweep of the season with a pair of wins over Louisiana on Dec. 18 and Jan. 3.
 
EAGLES ERUPTING: Under third-year head coach Charlie Henry, Georgia Southern (12-5, 4-0 SBC) is riding a league-best nine-game winning streak where the Eagles are averaging a league-leading 90.3 points per game. They have eclipsed 90 points in five of their last six outings which includes a trio of league wins over Georgia State (90-67) on Dec. 18, James Madison (96-92) in overtime on Dec. 20 and at Old Dominion (93-86) on Jan. 3. Georgia Southern leads the Sun Belt in free throw attempts (26.0) and free throws made (19.0) per game which also rank in the top 35 nationally.
 
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: Tylik Weeks, Southern Miss (17.6)
Rebounds Per Game: Thomas Dowd, Troy (10.3)
Assists Per Game: Jalen Speer, Marshall (5.9)
Blocks Per Game: Matt Van Komen, Marshall (2.7)
Steals Per Game: Isaac Taveras, Southern Miss (2.1)
Field Goal Percentage: D.J. Hall, Texas State (.568)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: Caleb Hollenbeck, Marshall (.432)

 WHERE TO WATCH

Date	Time	Matchup	ESPN+
Weds., Jan. 7	6:00 p.m.	Marshall at James Madison	ESPN+
Weds., Jan. 7	7:00 p.m.	Troy at Arkansas State	ESPN+
Thurs., Jan 8	6:00 p.m.	App State at Georgia State	ESPN+
Thurs., Jan 8	6:00 p.m.	Old Dominion at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Thurs., Jan 8	7:00 p.m.	Texas State at Southern Miss	ESPN+
Thurs., Jan 8	7:30 p.m.	ULM at Louisiana	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 10	12:00 p.m.	App State at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 10	12:00 p.m.	Troy at Louisiana	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 10	1:00 p.m.	Georgia Southern at South Alabama	ESPNU
Saturday, Jan. 10	2:00 p.m.	ULM at Southern Miss	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 10	2:00 p.m.	Texas State at Arkansas State	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 10	3:00 p.m.	Old Dominion at James Madison	ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 10	3:00 p.m.	Marshall at Georgia State	ESPN+

All Times CT