2021 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship seeds, matchups and notes 

Pensacola, Fla. – The 2021 Sun Belt Conference Basketball Championship, presented by First Bank and Trust, is set to begin on Friday with games scheduled at the Pensacola Bay Center and Pensacola State College.

All 12 members of the conference will compete in the single-elimination tournament from March 5-8. Seeding is based on SBC regular-season winning percentages. Texas State (18-6, 12-3 SBC) won the Regular Season Sun Belt Conference Championship.

2020-21 Regular Season Stats

Tournament History
Georgia State looks to defend its 2018 and 2019 Sun Belt Championships this year after an unexpected 2020 season that saw the conference tournament being canceled before the semifinal round started due to COVID. The Panthers are 11-9 overall in the Sun Belt Tournament and for the second time in three years, are a one seed.
South Alabama has the most wins in Sun Belt Tournament history with 36, dating back to its first appearance in the tournament in 1978. The Jaguars finished as the tournament’s runner-up in 1978 to New Orleans who went on to win the 1978 SBC Championship, 22-20, making it the lowest-scoring championship game in tournament history.
Year-by-year Champions

Sun Belt Automatic Qualifier
The Conference AQ to the NCAA Tournament will be the winner of the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Championship for both men and women. In the event the team that won the AQ cannot participate in the NCAA postseason the runner-up will be deemed the AQ and represent the Conference in the NCAA postseason.
Full AQ Information

First Round   
Friday, March 5
Game 1 – (4W) Arkansas State vs. (5E) Georgia Southern (ESPN+), 5 p.m. CT @SC
Game 2 – (3E) South Alabama vs. (6W) ULM (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m. CT @BC
Game 3 – (3W) UTA vs. (6E) Troy (ESPN+), 8 p.m. CT @BC
Game 4 – (4E) App State vs. (5W) Little Rock (ESPN+), 7:30 p.m.CT @SC

Quarterfinals  
Saturday, March 6
Game 5 – Game 1 Winner vs. (1E) Georgia State (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m. CT @BC
Game 6 – Game 2 Winner vs. (2W) Louisiana (ESPN+), 5 p.m. CT @SC
Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. (2E) Coastal Carolina (ESPN+), 7:30 p.m. CT @SC
Game 8 – Game 4 Winner vs. (1W) Texas State (ESPN+), 8 p.m. CT @BC

Semifinals 
Sunday, March 7
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m. CT @BC
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN+), 8 p.m. CT @BC

Championship Game 
Monday, March 8
Game 11 – Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner (ESPN2), 6 p.m. CT @BC

@BC = Games played at Pensacola Bay Center
@SC = Games played at Pensacola State College
All times are central and subject to change.

East Division Seeds
#1E Georgia State (14-5, 8-4 SBC)

• The Panthers are 11-9 overall in the conference tournament and are the 2019 defending champions.
• Rank first in the Sun Belt and 20th in the NCAA in scoring offense (81.0).
• Lead the SBC in assists per game (17) and field goal percentage (47.4).
• Corey Allen leads the team in scoring averaging 14.9 points and ranks sixth in the conference. Allen is 22nd in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage (41.7) and fourth in the SBC in three-points made (55).
• Eliel Nsoseme is averaging a double-double in points (11.9) and rebounds (10).  He leads the team in rebounding and is fourth in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (4.18).

#2E Coastal Carolina (15-6, 9-5 SBC)

• The Chants are 2-3 in the SBC tournament with its only win coming in the First Round of the 2020 tournament over UTA, 63-62.
• Rank second in the SBC and 24th in the country in scoring offense (80.4). The Chants are third in the conference in scoring defense (66.8).
• Rank first in the SBC and seventh in the NCAA in defensive rebounds per game (29.67).
• DeVante Jones leads the team in scoring and ranks second in the conference averaging 20.2 points. He ranks 22nd in the NCAA in points per game. His team-leading 64 steals rank third in the nation.
•  Ebrima Dibba leads in assists per game (5.2) and is second in total assists (109) in the conference.

#3E South Alabama (16-10, 10-7 SBC)

• South Alabama has the most conference tournament wins (36) among the current members and second-most in conference tournament all-time history … Former member Western Kentucky has the most wins with 50.
• 1-of-3 teams (Texas State: 12 and Louisiana: 10) to win 10 or more conference games this season.
• Jags are first in the SBC and 30th in the NCAA in free throws made (356).
• Michael Flowers leads the team and the league in scoring (20.8), which also ranks 16th in the NCAA. His 80 three-pointers made is seventh in the country and first, in the SBC. Flowers is second in the nation in total minutes played with 965:35.
•  Kayo Goncalves leads the team in total rebounds (158) and tied for first in rebounds per game (6.1) with Jamal West. Goncalves is ninth in the NCAA in three-pointers made (75).

#4E App State (13-11, 7-8 SBC)

• App State is 2-2 in the conference tournament with its last win coming back in 2020 in the First Round 70-65 win over Coastal Carolina. App State will face Little Rock for the second time ever in the conference tournament this year.
• The Mountaineers are second in the Sun Belt in scoring defense holding opponents to 64.1 points per game.
• Adrian Delph is the team’s leading scorer averaging 12.4 points and field goals made with 101. His 101 field goals made rank sixth in the SBC.
• Donovan Gregory is the team’s leading rebounder with 122 total rebounds and offensive rebounds with 56. He is the team leader and 10th in the SBC in steals (38).
• Michael Almonacy leads the team in assists (67), which ties for 15th in the league.

#5E Georgia Southern (13-12, 7-9 SBC)

• The Eagles have five tournament wins with the last one coming back in the 2020 quarterfinals during an 81-62 win over Georgia State.
• Georgia Southern ranks 30th in the NCAA in turnovers forced (16), which also ranks first in the Sun Belt.
• The Eagles rank third in the league in block shots with 97 while averaging 3.88 blocks.
• Zack Bryant’s 13.9 points per game lead the team and rank tied for ninth in the league. He also leads the team in field goals made (96), free throws made (59) and free throw percentage (79.7).
• Eric Boone’s 73 assists place him tied for 10th in the league and first on the team. His season-high is seven on Jan. 9 versus App State.

#6E Troy (10-16, 4-12 SBC)

• Troy has tallied 10 wins overall in the conference tournament with its last one back in 2018 in the First Round with a 69-62 win over South Alabama.
• The Trojans’ scoring defense (68.1) ranks fifth in the league. Their 346 free throws made are tied for third with App State in the SBC.
• Troy’s 966 total rebounds are first in the conference.
• Nick Stampley leads the team in scoring (12.8) and field goals made (116). His 12.8 points per game rank 16th in the league.
• Khalyl Waters is 24th in the nation and first in the conference in free throw percentage (88.5). He is 69-of-78 from the line this season.

West Division Seeds
#1W Texas State (18-6, 12-3 SBC)

• Texas State is 7-5 all-time in the conference tournament with the last win coming in the 2020 Quarterfinals in an 85-68 win over App State. Since 2014, the Bobcats have been no higher than a four seed in the tournament, this year marks their highest seed.
• The Bobcats scoring defense (61.1) ranks 10th in the NCAA and first in the league.
• Texas State is shooting 46.4 percent from the field ranks tied for second in the conference with Coastal Carolina.
• Mason Harrell leads the team and is 11th in the SBC in scoring with 13.7 points per game. His 76 assists is a team-high and rank tied for eighth in the league.
• Isiah Small’s 5.8 rebounds per game lead the team and are tied for 15th in the league. He is also averaging 10.8 points, which is third on the team.

#2W Louisiana (16-8, 10-7 SBC)

• Louisiana’s 26 conference tournament wins are second among active members and third in all-time conference tournament history.
• The Cajuns 112 total blocks rank 14th in the NCAA and second in the Sun Belt.
• Louisiana’s rank third in the conference in scoring offense (74.3).
• Cedric Russell leads the team in scoring averaging 17.5 points, which is third in the league. His 71 three-pointers made is a team-high and is third in the Sun Belt. Russell was named Player of the Week on Week 10 for his performance.
• Theo Akwuba’s 9.3 rebounds per game is a team-high that ranks fourth in the SBC and 29th in the NCAA.

#3W UTA (13-12, 9-8 SBC)

• UTA is 6-6 in conference tournament action since its first appearance in 2014. The Mavericks were the 2019 conference tournament runner-up.
• The Mavericks rank 10th in the NCAA in blocks (117), which also leads the Sun Belt.
• UTA is 29th in the nation and second in the conference in total rebounds (939). The Mavericks are 23rd in the NCAA in blocked shots per game (4.7).
• Shahada Wells is the team’s leading scoring averaging 16.7 points, which ranks fourth in the league. His 147 field goals made is second in the SBC. Wells team-high 3.8 assists per game rank sixth in the league.
• Fredelin De La Cruz is first on the team in rebounding with 5.1 rebounds per game and is fifth in field goal percentage (45.0).

#4W Arkansas State (10-12, 7-8 SBC)

• The Red Wolves have 14 wins in the conference tournament with the last one in 2014 in the quarterfinals with a 116-114 four-overtime win over Little Rock.
• Arkansas State is second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (37.9).
• The Red Wolves are averaging 73.2 points, which ranks tied for fifth in the league.
• Marquis Eaton leads the team and eighth in the Sun Belt in scoring (14.1). His 112 assists rank 30th in the NCAA and first in the conference. He is the only back-to-back SBC Player of the Week winner this season for Weeks 11 and 12.
• Norchad Omier is averaging a double-double in points (12.5) and rebounds (11.7). He ranks fourth in the NCAA and first in the SBC in rebounding. Omier’s 3.9 offensive rebounds per game is seventh in the nation.

#5W Little Rock (11-14, 7-11 SBC)

• Little Rock’s 20 wins are third-most among current Sun Belt members. The Trojans’ last win was in the 2016 conference championship game with a 70-50 win over ULM.
• Little Rock is fourth in field goal percentage (45.6) and second in free throw percentage (70.4) in the conference.
• The Trojans’ 343 total assists rank second in the league.
• Rout Monyyong is averaging a double-double in points (11.7) and rebounds (11.0). He ranks third in total rebounds (275), third in double-doubles (14), eighth in rebounds per game (11.0), 23rd in offensive rebounds per game (3.40), 15th in defensive rebounds per game (7.60) in the NCAA.
• Nikola Maric is the team’s leading scoring averaging 14.4 points and is second in blocks with 22.

#6W ULM (7-18, 5-13 SBC)

• ULM has seven wins all-time in the conference tournament, with its last win came back in 2019 in the second round in an 80-50 win over Coastal Carolina.
• ULM’s scoring defense (68.5) ranks six in the league.
• The Warhawks are third in the SBC in total assists (339)
• Russell Harrison leads the team in scoring (12.4), which ranks 19th in the Sun Belt. His team-leading 5.8 rebounds per game rank 15th in the league. Harrison is 13th in the conference in three-pointers made (41).
• Koreem Ozier leads the team in total assists (66) and is second on the team in scoring (11.6).

Sun Belt Conference 2020-21 Player of the Week Honors Recap:
Week 1 – Justin Roberts, Georgia State
Week 2 – Markquis Nowell, Little Rock
Week 3 – Adrian Delph, App State
Week 4 – DeVante’ Jones, Coastal Carolina
Week 5 – Corey Allen, Georgia State
Week 6 – Ben Coupet Jr., Little Rock
Week 7 – Rout Monyyong., Little Rock
Week 8 – Caleb Asberry, Texas State
Week 9 – DeVante’ Jones, Coastal Carolina
Week 10 – Cedric Russell, Louisiana
Week 11 – Marquis Eaton, Arkansas State
Week 12 – Marquis Eaton, Arkansas State
Week 13 – Jalen Thomas, Georgia State
Week 14 – Essam Mostafa, Coastal Carolina