NEW ORLEANS – A heavy slate of consequential Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball rematches fills the weekly docket of games beginning with key matchups throughout the league’s standings during the midweek schedule February 18-19 and Saturday’s full seven-game ledger on Feb. 21. All 13 games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
GAME OF THE WEEK: The Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Game of the Week features the second regular season meeting between App State (18-10, 10-5 SBC) and Marshall (17-10, 9-5 SBC) this season on Thursday evening in Boone, N.C., after Marshall earned an 88-81 win in Huntington, W.Va., on Jan. 3. The Mountaineers - who have won seven of their last eight games - are the conference’s first team to reach 10 wins in league play and stand alone in first place by a half game in the standings as three teams are positioned just one game behind them in the win column. One of those teams is the Thundering Herd, who have won four of their last five games in Sun Belt play, as graduate forward Wyatt Fricks is averaging 22.7 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 24-for-39 (.615) from the field over the last three games. App State leads the Sun Belt in scoring defense and opponent 3-point field goal percentage, while Marshall is first in 3-pointers made, 3-point percentage and assists, respectively.
 
CHANTS CHANCE: Coastal Carolina (16-11, 8-6 SBC) currently stands alone in sixth place in the Sun Belt standings a half game behind Texas State (17-11, 9-6 SBC) in fifth place. The Chanticleers host a pair of crucial games against a James Madison (14-13, 6-8 SBC) team seeking to bridge a two-game gap on Wednesday evening before Marshall - who begins the week one game ahead of the Chants - visits Conway, S.C., on Saturday afternoon. Coastal has won eight of its last 10 games as it hosts the Dukes for the first of two meetings just nine days apart before seeking a season series sweep of the Thundering Herd after earning an 85-83 road win on Jan. 14.
 
TEXAS STATE TEMPO: Playing some of its best basketball of the season in February, Texas State (17-11, 9-6 SBC) takes a league-best six-game winning streak on the road for trips to South Alabama (19-8, 9-5 SBC) on Thursday evening before heading to face Louisiana (9-18, 6-8) on Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats have won eight of their last 10 games and, despite a 4-6 start to conference play, have risen to fifth place and are positioned just one game behind App State for first place. They own a 15-1 mark on their home court but will attempt to improve on their 2-10 record away from their friendly confines this season.
 
MATINEE IN MOBILE: Troy (17-10, 9-5) renews its in-state rivalry with South Alabama on Saturday afternoon in Mobile, Ala., and searches for a regular-season series sweep after defeating the Jaguars, 59-49, at home on Jan. 3. The Trojans held the Jags to their lowest scoring performance of the season in the first meeting, but South Alabama enters the contest with some history on its side with wins in seven-consecutive home games against Troy dating back to the 2017-18 campaign. The teams have split the regular season series in each of the last five seasons.
 
HALL BALL: Texas State freshman forward D.J. Hall has been a catalyst during the Bobcats’ six-game winning streak - and specifically over the last five contests - shooting a scorching 37-for-58 (.638) from the floor while scoring in double-figures five times and tallying 20 points three times. Hall got his hot streak started in the Jan. 31 home victory against Old Dominion, scoring 24 points on 7-of-8 shooting in just 23 minutes with six rebounds, three assists and three steals. He also scored 21 points in a home win over Troy on Feb. 11, before scoring a season-high 27 points on 11-for-17 shooting with nine rebounds and five assists in last Saturday’s win over ULM.
 
THIRTY ROCK: During the 2025-26 campaign, 20 different Sun Belt players have scored at least 30 points in game, and 18 of those scoring outbursts have occurred in conference play. Just five players have accomplished the feat twice this season, led by South Alabama senior guard Chaze Harris who has accomplished the feat three times and scored a league-leading 38 points twice. Southern Miss junior forward Tylik Weeks, James Madison junior forward Justin McBride, Coastal Carolina junior guard A.J. Dancler and App State graduate guard Kasen Jennings have each eclipsed the threshold two times. Seven teams have had multiple players eclipse 30 points in a game this season, including Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, ULM, Marshall, Southern Miss and Troy.
 
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 (18.7)
Rebounds Per Game: Thomas Dowd, Troy (10.2)
Assists Per Game: Jalen Speer, Marshall (5.9)
Blocks Per Game: Matt Van Komen, Marshall (2.6)
Steals Per Game: Kaden Gumbs, Texas State (2.0)
Field Goal Percentage: D.J. Hall, Texas State (.554)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: Cobi Campbell, Troy (.439)
Free Throw Percentage: Jelani Hamilton, Georgia State (.882)

 WHERE TO WATCH

Date	Time	Matchup	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 18	6:00 p.m.	James Madison at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 18	6:30 p.m.	Troy at ULM	ESPN+
Thursday, Feb. 19	5:30 p.m.	Marshall at App State	ESPN+
Thursday, Feb. 19	7:00 p.m.	Georgia Southern at Georgia State	ESPN+
Thursday, Feb. 19	7:00 p.m.	Texas State at South Alabama	ESPN+
Thursday, Feb. 19	7:00 p.m.	Arkansas State at Louisiana	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 21	12:00 p.m.	Marshall at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 21	12:00 p.m.	Texas State at Louisiana	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 21	12:00 p.m.	Georgia Southern at App State	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 21	2:00 p.m.	Old Dominion at Southern Miss	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 21	2:00 p.m.	Arkansas State at ULM	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 21	3:00 p.m.	Troy at South Alabama	ESPN+
Saturday, Feb. 21	3:00 p.m.	James Madison at Georgia State	ESPN+

All Times CT