Sun Belt Tournament Preview 2020
3MW’s All Conference Team:
Player of the Year: Nijal Pearson, Sr., Texas State
Coach of the Year: Darrell Walker, Little Rock
Newcomer of the Year: Ruot Monyyong, Jr., Little Rock
Freshman of the Year: Mylik Wilson, Louisiana
Season Storylines:
In my predicted standings (above), I was so unenthused by the teams in this league that I had an eight-team top tier. And somehow, the league champion was still not included in that group, as Little Rock stormed through the league, winning it outright by two games. I was not alone in my whiff on the Trojans; the preseason coaches’ poll place Little Rock 11th, as well. Darrell Walker certainly earned his Coach of the Year honors!
Beyond that, things actually went somewhat to expectations, injuries excepted. Coastal Carolina lost do-everything sophomore Ebrima Dibba for the season, Louisiana was down to six scholarship players at times, and UL Monroe lost J.D. Willams to a season-ending injury. Danny Kaspar’s Texas State squad lived by the defensive end, and Richie Riley’s South Alabama team struggled to blend all of its talent together at times. The Jaguars ripped off eight straight wins to end the season though, and they’ve been a different team with Tyreke Locure in the starting lineup.
Finally, a tip of the cap to Rob Lanier, who instilled a clear identity in his first season at Georgia State; the Panthers’ pressure and bombs-away, four-out offensive attack made them a pain to play against (although they faded later in the year following an 8-3 start to league play).
Tournament Preview
The Sun Belt uses the WCC’s gauntlet format, with every two-team increment in the standings having to win an extra game to cut down the nets and go dancing. South Alabama knocked off Texas State on the season’s final day to earn the second mega-bye to the semi-finals (along with champion Little Rock),
The format makes it somewhat difficult, but this is the kind of league where you might see a string of upsets and a surprise champ, because the talent is so evenly spread across the entire conference. Texas State is actually the highest-rated team per KenPom, and UT Arlington is rated third but is the 7-seed. Ultimately, I’m sticking with those Bobcats after rolling with them in the preseason.
Tournament Predictions
(8) Louisiana over (9) Arkansas State
(7) UT Arlington over (10) Coastal Carolina
(5) Georgia Southern over (8) Louisiana
(6) Appalachian State over (7) UT Arlington
(5) Georgia Southern over (4) Georgia State
(3) Texas State over (6) Appalachian State
(1) Little Rock over (5) Georgia Southern
(3) Texas State over (2) South Alabama
(3) Texas State over (1) Little Rock