NEW ORLEANS – South Alabama visits App State to headline a full slate of Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball midweek games on Wednesday, February 7, as teams seek separation in the standings ahead of the second edition of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Saturday. All seven 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 South Alabama and App State on Wednesday evening in Boone, N.C. Both teams have won five of their last six games, as the matchup marks a battle between teams currently positioned in second and third place, respectively, in the Sun Belt Conference standings with South Alabama at 7-3 and App State at 8-4. In conference play, the Mountaineers currently rank first in the Sun Belt in scoring defense (62.1) and second in both field goal percentage defense (.387) and defensive rebounding (39.2), while the Jaguars are first in field goal percentage (.463), field goal percentage defense (.372), and turnover margin (+3.9).
 
COASTAL’S CACHE: Coastal Carolina (14-10, 7-5 SBC) begins a stretch with four of its next five games at home beginning with a tilt against Arkansas State (13-10, 5-6 SBC) on Wednesday evening. Five of the Chanticleers’ last six victories have come by five points or less, and this season, they own a 9-2 record in games decided by six points or less. As a unit, the Chants have made double-digit 3-pointers in three-consecutive outings and own a 7-3 record this season when make at least 10 in a game. Coastal possesses three key scoring threats at the guard position between graduate Joshua Beadle (16.7 PPG) and juniors Rasheed Jones (15.1 PPG) and A.J. Dancler (14.7 PPG), as Beadle has eight games with at least 20 points this season, as Jones has seven and Dancler has six.
 
SHOT-MAKING STANDOFFS: Two of the Sun Belt’s field goal percentage leaders in conference play will go head-to-head Wednesday evening in Statesboro, Ga., when Texas State (13-11, 6-6 SBC) visits Georgia Southern (14-10, 6-5 SBC). Texas State freshman forward D.J. Hall ranks second in field goal percentage (.548) with 74 made field goals in league play, while Georgia Southern graduate Spudd Webb is third (.543) on 57 made baskets. Meanwhile, James Madison junior forward Justin McBride ranks fifth (.500) with 58 field goals made and Louisiana junior guard Dorian Finister (.467) ranks seventh with 57 buckets, as they two meet in Harrisonburg, Va., on Wednesday evening. Additionally, Marshall graduate forward Wyatt Fricks (.525) ranks fourth with 53 shots made and will square off in Huntington, W.Va., against Southern Miss junior forward Tylik Weeks (.463) who ranks eighth with 76 field goals.
 
THIRTY BALL: During the 2025-26 campaign, 15 different Sun Belt players have scored at least 30 points in game, and 11 of those scoring outbursts have occurred in conference play. Just three players have accomplished the feat twice this season, led by South Alabama senior guard Chaze Harris who scored a league-leading 38 points against ULM on Dec. 17 and Arkansas State on Jan. 15. James Madison junior forward Justin McBride scored 33 points against Norfolk State on Dec. 6, before dropping 30 against South Alabama on Jan. 22. Coastal Carolina’s A.J. Dancler scored 31 against North Dakota on Nov. 22 before scoring 32 at ULM on Feb. 1. Four teams have had multiple players eclipse 30 points in a game this season, including Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Marshall 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: Jelani Hamilton, Georgia State (18.7)
Rebounds Per Game: Thomas Dowd, Troy (10.3)
Assists Per Game: Jalen Speer, Marshall (5.7)
Blocks Per Game: Matt Van Komen, Marshall (2.6)
Steals Per Game: Jelani Hamilton, Georgia State (2.1)
Field Goal Percentage: D.J. Hall, Texas State (.545)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: Cobi Campbell, Troy (.445)
Free Throw Percentage: Jelani Hamilton, Georgia State (.916)

 WHERE TO WATCH
 

Date	Time	Matchup	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 4	5:30 p.m.	South Alabama at App State	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 4	6:00 p.m.	Southern Miss at Marshall	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 4	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana at James Madison	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 4	6:00 p.m.	Arkansas State at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 4	6:00 p.m.	ULM at Old Dominion	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 4	6:00 p.m.	Troy at Georgia State	ESPN+
Weds., Feb. 4	6:00 p.m.	Texas State at Georgia Southern	ESPN+

All Times CT