Sun Belt Conference Tournament Bracket

[e-bone ver2.awesome]

Link.

SBC website got that up fast.

Update:

Updated link for round 2.

Update #2:

Link for Semis

Edited March 9, 2009 by e-bone ver2.awesome

[CMJ]

Link.

SBC website got that up fast.

They also sent me an email! Really on top of it I'd say.

[UNT_playmaker]

Great Link

Let's win this North Texas

[CMJ]

That's a pretty late tip time for the Championship Game in the Eastern/Central Timezones.

[Green P1]

Here ya go. Bank on it.

[NT03]

Here ya go. Bank on it.

Bombers, Bombers , Bombers ... Championship!!

I like it , but for some reason I think South Bama comes out of the bottom half of the bracket to make it to the finals.

Edited March 2, 2009 by NT03

[CMJ]

I'm only gonna glance one game ahead, because we have no guarantee of getting by FAU. Do we want MTSU or ASU? Logic would dictate ASU because they're the lower seed, etc.

I'm not sure tho...they might travel alot of people if they upset the Blue Raiders. And we've already beat them 2 times this year, always kinda hard to do so 3 in a row. Especially 3 in a row in back to back seasons.

[chrisfisher]

I'm only gonna glance one game ahead, because we have no guarantee of getting by FAU. Do we want MTSU or ASU? Logic would dictate ASU because they're the lower seed, etc.

I'm not sure tho...they might travel alot of people if they upset the Blue Raiders. And we've already beat them 2 times this year, always kinda hard to do so 3 in a row. Especially 3 in a row in back to back seasons.

Anything is possible when the Real McCoy plays.

[KRAM1]

I like it! Looks to me like UNT has a good shot at moving along in the tournament. Great to see us get FAU...UNT earned it the old fashioned way...they WON! Nice win in Denver yesterday. Way to go Mean Green.

GO MEAN GREEN! HOT SPRINGS OR BUST!!!!!

[CMJ]

Anything is possible when the Real McCoy plays.

I'm just trying to figure out who we'd rather play.

I still think ASU would probably be the choice, but it's not completely cut and dry. Also you have to think if we played MTSU in the quarters, all the WKU fans would pull for us since they are rivals of the Blue Raiders.

[TheTastyGreek]

I'm just trying to figure out who we'd rather play.

I still think ASU would probably be the choice, but it's not completely cut and dry. Also you have to think if we played MTSU in the quarters, all the WKU fans would pull for us since they are rivals of the Blue Raiders.

Honestly... Middle Tennessee traveled pretty damn well to Mobile last year. 2nd biggest travel contingent after Western. Since both Middle and Arkansas State are coming off incredibly disappointing years, I wouldn't be surprised to see more Middle fans there than Arkansas State people, at least for a quarterfinal game.

But hey, we're two hours closer to Hot Springs than Middle is. So, SURELY we'll travel better than they do, right? I mean, we had a better year AND we're more than 100 miles closer!

[greenminer]

I wish they would switch this over to ESPN Deportes.

I think the play-by-play might be pretty cool.

[greenjoe]

One of my favorite North Texas memories was waiting for the brackets to be announced with everyone else at the Athletic Center year before last. when NT vs Memphis was announced, theywhole place exploded. I hope to have a repeat of that next week.

GO MEAN GREEN

[CMJ]

RPI's going into the tournament.

57 WKU

85 UALR

118 Troy

124 North Texas

171 MTSU

178 USA

224 Denver

227 FIU

237 ASU

251 ULL

274 UNO

281 ULM

312 FAU

[CMJ]

MTSU 69

ASU 62

[CMJ]

FIU 71

LA-Lafayette 69

[emmitt01]

UNO lost to S. Alabama...and FIU beat ULL

Edited March 5, 2009 by emmitt01

[CMJ]

The final in the South Alabama game: 62-60

Looks like all of the games have been nailbiters. Just what you'd expect for tournament basketball.

Edited March 9, 2009 by CMJ

[CMJ]

Denver 66

LA Monroe 57

[CMJ]

This was posted on the Sunbelt Messageboard before the tournament started, but i felt it was a great write up, so I decided to post it.

http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=350918

Here is mine, feel free to add your own. I did actually look at each team and just kind of took a survey of thier path and the odds of them winning in each round. And yes, I believe my percentages add up to 100%.

In order of least likely to most likely:

#13 Louisiana Monroe - less than 1 % chance of title. Monroe is an abysmal 2-13 on the road this year, they got the kiss of death in drawing Denver. Magness is like a black hole as far as Monroe is concerned. You go in, but you don't come out.

#12 FAU - 1 % chance of title (rounding up). A healthy FAU could hypothetically make a surprise run. They didn't show that potential against WKU or FIU though. Odds are the Owls's season ends in Denton on Wednesday. Its a mercy kill.

#11 Arkansas State - 1 % chance of the title. John Brady did a nice job in the non-conference in putting together a good record that helped the Sunbelt conference. But what a land slide once the conference started. I don't think there's any shame in Red Wolves fans looking to next year, since Brady will right the ship quickly. MTSU has not been particularly good at home, but even if Brady got the upset, stAte would potentially have a hot UNT team after that. You never know, Brady might have some magic left in him, but a deep run seems unlikely.

#10 UNO - 1 % chance of title. UNO had some nice athleticsm and quickness when I saw them. But they have a brutal road to the championship. South Alabama is big and physical and athletic. Too much for the privateers in Mobile. Should UNO pull off the upset, Troy awaits. And likely UALR after that. And then they get a tough game in the championship (whoever that opponent might be). UNO could have the toughest road to take out of any team in the conference. It could potentially take four straight upsets including potentially all three of the top seeds. Just not going to happen.

#9 Denver - 2 % chance of title. Denver is my pick for a lock in the opening round. It will get much tougher after that. UALR awaits in the second round and Denver is not good at all on the road. Just an hour from Little Rock, this will be effectively a road game. And Denver would potentially have the deadly shooting of Troy after that. Denver is young. The Pioneers will take a nice season and build on it in the future, quite possibly becoming the designated conferece pain in the @$$ in the next few years. But they won't win the Sunbelt championship in '09.

#8 Louisiana - 4 % chance of the title. The Cajun fans would probably agree that Lee has underperformed this year. I was impressed with the Louisiana's size and athleticsm when I saw them this year. I think the Cajuns have the talent to put the season behind them and make a run in this tournament. But, there are a lot of pretty even teams this year so as with everybody, it won't be easy. FIU has the firepower to beat anybody on a given night. Out of all the first round road teams FIU was the one you DON'T want to get. This will easily be the best game of the opening round. A healthy FIU is probably better than Louisiana, but with home court advantage, the Cajuns are capable of pulling this one out.

#7 FIU - 4 % chance of the title. See above. Injuries have kept the Panthers from reaching thier potential down there in Miami, and FIU must now prove themselves on the road to earn another shot at the champs.

#6 MTSU - 7 % chance of the title. The Blue Raiders should take care of business against Arkansas State. But the Murphy Center has hardly been an inpenatrable fortress this year. Potential matchups against Troy and UALR loom if they could put a run together. Kermit must be wary of having to go job hunting in this economy... but he does still have the talent to finish the conquest.

#5 South Alabama - 7 % chance of the title. USA has a nice team. The front court is among the best in the belt. Outside of Tilford do they have the gaurds to get the job done? Tilford can also be a little... emotional as a player. That can cut both ways. Bottom line a third Troy / USA meeting appears to be at hand... not sure USA can handle the lightning quick gaurds of Troy. On the other hand... it is fairly rare that a team sweeps another team three games in one season. If USA can get past Troy, I think they have a decent shot at UALR since they have the front court to compete with Little Rock's front court.

#4 Troy - 16 % chance of the Sunbelt title. Troy, Troy, Troy. What to make of Troy. Their winning streak midseason was nothing short of a miracle turnaround and should earn Maestri the COY honors (although my heart is with McDonald). The team we faced in Troy back on Valentine's Day would beat any team in the conference. In fact THAT Troy team would almost certainly upset just about anyone in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The shots they hit were insane. BUT. That was in home sweet concrete box. Can they shoot like that for three straight games on a neutral court? Will the pressure finally get to them? Pressure is a funny thing. If they can, they will be champions. Period. But I suspect that they will have an off shooting night sooner or later. And a nice season for the men of Troy will come to a close. It could be a fun ride though.

#3 North Texas - 17 % chance of the Sunbelt title. Since the Sunbelt has adopted this format, twice we have seen a 4 seed or a 5 seed advance to the championship game with North Texas winning it in 2007. That makes sense since the 4 and the 5 seeds tend to be very solid teams and since they generally will play each other in the second round one of them has to advance to the semi-finals. That means the 4/5 winner is just one upset away from being in the championship game (with a favorable time slot at that). I saw UNT in person just a few weeks ago and I was impressed with thier athleticsm and physicality. The Mean Green have won 6 out of thier last 7 and are potentially peaking at the right time. The Cherry was the blowout win in Denver (a place where bracket mates WKU and MTSU could not win). North Texas is a very dangerous team and I think if they can get to the title game they will win it.

#2 UALR - 17 % chance of the title. Frankly, I picked the Trojans to lose at UNT. That was an impressive road win given the hot streak the North Texas was on. The Trojans are fairly big, they're physical, and if the old addage that defense wins championships is true then UALR should take it. Denver is a huge question mark. They have been terrible on the road, but they have also been very, very close to some big upsets on the road. Denver has a young team, but those freshmen aren't really freshmen anymore at this point of the season. UALR also might struggle with the smaller quicker gaurds of Troy.

#1 WKU - 21 % chance of the repeat. Gosh, I almost hate to pick WKU out of fear of claims of homerism. And the Sunbelt tournament has not been kind to #1 seeds. But its also hard to argue against picking WKU as the pre-tourny favs. WKU has simply accomplished things that other teams have not this year. It doesn't mean that the Toppers will be able to put together the three wins next week, but here are some things to consider:

A) Experience. WKU has guys that have been there, done that, and have the confidence to take that shot with the game on the line.

Experience part 2. WKU has played two stretches this season in which there were 3 or more games in a seven day period. In the nine day period from Jan 1rst to Jan 10th WKU played FIVE games, and in the 8 day period from Jan 31rst to Feb. 7th WKU played four games. I wager no other team in the Belt has played one stretch of this intensity much less two.

Well, this is a well balanced, exciting Sunbelt tourney. Will be interesting to see how it plays out

[e-bone ver2.awesome]

Added link for the updated bracket showing the 2nd round matchups.

[CMJ]

Anyone know where I can listen to the WKU/FIU game?

[GreenBat]

Anyone know where I can listen to the WKU/FIU game?

CMJ, Try this link

http://www.fiusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?...;ATCLID=3686716

[CMJ]

CMJ, Try this link

http://www.fiusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?...;ATCLID=3686716

Yeah, I'm getting some religious radio station.

(Nothing against them btw - but that's not what I signed on for )

[GreenBat]

Yeah, I'm getting some religious radio station.

(Nothing against them btw - but that's not what I signed on for )

That's what I got as well. Couldn't find the WKU feed. Oh well, I'll have to check my Yahoo scoreboard. If you find a free radio feed please post it.