NEW ORLEANS – The final midweek slate of Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball season tips off with seven teams in the hunt for at least a share of the league’s regular season championship, as the battle for seeding in the conference tournament enters the final stretch.
 
The week begins with four games on Tuesday, February 24 followed by two more on Wednesday, February 25. All six games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
The regular season concludes with a full seven-game schedule on Friday, February 27.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
TITLE HUNT: Seven teams are in position with a chance to claim at least a share of the Sun Belt’s regular season crown with five of those teams in action during the midweek slate of games and facing opponents not in contention for the title. South Alabama (20-9, 10-6 SBC), Marshall (18-11 10-6 SBC) and Troy (18-11, 10-6 SBC) can move into a four-way tie for first place with App State (19-11, 11-6 SBC) with victories, while Texas State (18-12, 10-7 SBC), Arkansas State (18-11, 9-7 SBC) and Coastal Carolina (17-12, 9-7 SBC) begin the week one game back in the loss column. App State and Texas State have just one game remaining on their schedules and will square off against one another in San Marcos, Texas in Friday evening’s season finale.
 
DUKES DETERMINATION: James Madison (16-13, 8-8 SBC) owns the Sun Belt’s longest active winning streak at five in a row - including four-straight wins in league play - and close the regular season with consecutive home games beginning Wednesday night against Georgia Southern (15-14, 7-9 SBC). During the winning streak, fifth-year guard Cliff Davis has emerged as one of the league’s premier scoring threats at the tune of 20.8 points per game while registering three games with at least 22 points during the span. As a team, the Dukes are shooting over 46 percent from the floor while committing just 10.6 turnovers per game during the winning streak.
 
SPLIT OR SWEEP?: The midweek slate features six rematches of previous conference games as Troy, Marshall, Georgia State, Arkansas State and South Alabama look to capitalize with home wins after defeating Louisiana, Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss, respectively, on the road earlier in the season. Georgia Southern will be the lone road team searching for a series sweep during the first half of the week on its visit to James Madison.
 
TWENTY ON REPEAT: The Sun Belt has had at least four teams reach the 20-win benchmark in four-consecutive seasons. South Alabama became the first Sun Belt team to reach 20 wins this year, while Troy needs two more victories to extend its league-leading streak to five-straight seasons reaching the benchmark. Arkansas State can notch its third consecutive 20-win campaign with two more victories, as Marshall needs just one victory to accomplish the feat for the second year in a row. James Madison needs four more wins to record its fourth-straight season with at least 20.
 
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 (18.9)
Rebounds Per Game: Thomas Dowd, Troy (10.1)
Assists Per Game: Jalen Speer, Marshall (5.6)
Blocks Per Game: Matt Van Komen, Marshall (2.6)
Steals Per Game: Kaden Gumbs, Texas State (2.0)
Field Goal Percentage: Chaze Harris, South Alabama (.550)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: Jordan Battle, Old Dominion (.417)
Free Throw Percentage: Jelani Hamilton, Georgia State (.888)

 WHERE TO WATCH
 

Date	Time	Matchup	ESPN+
Tuesday, Feb. 24	6:00 p.m.	Old Dominion at Marshall	ESPN+
Tuesday, Feb. 24	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana at Troy	ESPN+
Tuesday, Feb. 24	6:30 p.m.	Coastal Carolina at Georgia State	ESPN+
Tuesday, Feb. 24	7:30 p.m.	Southern Miss at Arkansas State	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 25	7:00 p.m.	Georgia Southern at James Madison	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 25	7:30 p.m.	ULM at South Alabama	ESPN+