Conference Tourny Preview

[NTEagle08]

*** 2005 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Preview ***

The Sports Network

By Pat Taggart, College Basketball Staff Writer

FACTS & STATS: Site: The Super Pit (10,500) -- Denton, Texas. Dates: March

4-8. Television: ESPN Plus (Semifinals), ESPN (Championship Game). Annual:

29th. Defending Champion: UL-Lafayette

OUTLOOK: On March 4th, the 2005 Sun Belt Conference Tournament begins in

Denton, Texas. The league has 11 teams, so there are an uneven number of

schools in the two divisions. The five squads in the East Division have played

14 Sun Belt games, while the six squads from the West played one more

conference tilt apiece. Denver was the top team in the conference during the

regular season, winning 12 of its 15 SBC clashes. UL-Lafayette finished close

behind at 11-4, and those two teams are the biggest threats from the West

Division. As for the East, 10-4 Arkansas-Little Rock and 9-5 Western Kentucky

figure to have the best shot at earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA

Tournament. North Texas is the host team this year, and the Mean Green will

need all the help it can get considering that it went just 6-9 against league

foes during the regular season.

One of the matchups in Friday's first round pits the South Alabama Jaguars

(4W) against the Florida International Panthers (5E). South Alabama is the

worst offensive team in the league with regard to output, as it is scoring

only 62.5 ppg. As for FIU, it is the top rebounding squad in the conference,

as it is pulling down 5.8 rpg more than the opposition. Still, the Golden

Panthers have plenty of their own problems, as shaky play at both ends of the

floor has led to a 4-10 conference mark. The two teams met back on February

19th, and FIU posted a 74-71 decision over South Alabama, The winner of the

first-round matchup with take on Arkansas-Little Rock, the top seed from the

East in round two. The Trojans are the hottest team in the league, as they are

currently riding a six-game winning streak against conference foes. They are

not a dominant squad by any means, but they have proven capable of winning

close games.

Another first-round tilt features fourth-seeded Arkansas State from the East

and fifth-seeded North Texas from the West. The Indians finished the regular

season with back-to-back victories and come into this tournament with some

confidence. They are playing on UNT's home floor, however, and Arkansas State

owns a 2-9 record this season in true road games. The Indians are scoring 76.5

ppg to rank second out of the conference's 11 teams. North Texas is third at

73.9 ppg, but it is surrendering 73.3 ppg to the opposition to rank tenth. The

good news is that the Mean Green 9-6 at home, and there is no doubt that the

support of the crowd and familiar surroundings is a major advantage. During

the regular season, Arkansas State posted a 73-70 decision over North Texas in

Denton, and it will be interesting to see if that task can be repeated. The

winner of that game will move on to face Denver in the next round. The

Pioneers (1W) closed out the regular season with three straight wins to

capture the SBC regular-season title.They have posted 18 wins this year, the

most since rejoining the Division I ranks in 1998, and they own a scoring

margin of +7.2, the best mark of all 11 teams.

In the final first-round clash, the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (3E)

and the New Mexico State Aggies (6W) will meet. The Blue Raiders finished tied

with Arkansas State in the East at 7-7, but tie-breakers enabled the squad to

grab the much more favorable third seed. They are the top defensive team in

the league, limiting opponents to just 65.3 ppg while also possessing a

scoring margin of +6.3 ppg. As for the Aggies, they have clearly been the Sun

Belt's worst team this year. They enter this tournament with a 10-game losing

skid against league competition, and they managed just a single win in 15

conference tilts. NMSU is both the worst defensive team and worst rebounding

squad in the SBC, and the club dropped a 15-point decision to MTSU back in

January. UL-Lafayette (2W) awaits the winner of the MTSU-NMSU game, and the

Ragin' Cajuns hope to get back on track after dropping their final two

regular-season contests. They are the top offensive rebounding ream in the

league and have gone a combined 3-0 against the Blue Raiders and Aggies this

year.

Western Kentucky (2E) and New Orleans (3W) both earned first-round byes and

will meet on March 6th. The Hilltoppers are explosive, proven by their league-

leading 76.8 ppg on 37.5 percent shooting from three-point range. Eight of

their last 10 tilts resulted in wins, but the regular-season finale ended in a

two-point setback against a lackluster Florida International squad. For UNO to

have a shot in this game, Bo McCalebb will have to be sensational as usual.

Widely considered the Sun Belt's best player, McCalebb is averaging 22.6 ppg

and can score from anywhere on the court. The Privateers currently own a two-

game losing skid, but those two defeats came by a total of only three points.

The finale, a one-point setback against top-seeded Denver on the road, proved

that New Orleans can hang with any Sun Belt team. In the only meeting between

WKU and UNO this season, the Hilltoppers rolled to an 81-69 victory at home.

This tournament is up for grabs, as several teams figure to have a legitimate

shot at punching their "dance" ticket. The top two seeds in both divisions

figure to make it through to the semifinals, and from that point expect a

Western Kentucky win over Denver and a UL-Lafayette decision over UALR. In the

final, give a slight edge to the Hilltoppers, who have proven capable of

winning away from their home floor.

Sports Network Predicted Champion: Western Kentucky