Sunbelt Games (2/4/10)

[CMJ]

WKU

@ ULM

ASU

@ UALR

USA

@ UNO

Troy

@ MTSU

FIU

@ ULL

[MeanGreenTexan]

Pretty easy to see the teams we need to be pulling for here, other than the Troy/MT game.

Would it be better for Troy to win and keep the seeding knotted up, knowing we have the tie-breaker, and have MT brought down into the pack?

Or, would it be better for us if MT wins and pulls away in the East while knocking Troy down?

[CMJ]

Pretty easy to see the teams we need to be pulling for here, other than the Troy/MT game.

Would it be better for Troy to win and keep the seeding knotted up, knowing we have the tie-breaker, and have MT brought down into the pack?

Or, would it be better for us if MT wins and pulls away in the East while knocking Troy down?

I'm thinking it'd be better for MTSU to win. Since they have the tiebreaker over us, and we're 2 games back, they have a 3 game lead on us. We're aiming for seeding right now, and that 3rd seed is what I want. Troy is in 4th, FAU is in 2nd technically(they have the current breaker on MTSU according to the belt site) and we're in 7th. If we beat FAU and Troy loses tonight - we climb back over Troy and are only one game back of FAU and we hold the breaker. ULL probably beats FIU so they stay ahead of us, Denver has the night off so we climb back over them(and we only have to play them once...in the SuperPit, so I'm not as concerned with them). So, we'd be in 5th place - having ULL still having to return to our place and only a game back of FAU for 3rd -- and an all important bye.

Edited February 4, 2010 by CMJ

[Mean Green Matt]

If we get stuck with a 4-5 seed, hopefully our backups can get us a W while letting our starters rest most of the game for the next round. I think with the weakness of the 12-13 seeds, the 4-5 seed could potentially win those 4 games in 4 days.

[CMJ]

Troy 70

MTSU 67

[CMJ]

South Alabama 59

New Orleans 51

[CMJ]

ULL 83

FIU 63

[Mo Green]

ulm 67

wku 66

[CMJ]

MoGreen beat me to it

Edited February 5, 2010 by CMJ

[CMJ]

UALR 79

ASU 77

[greeninok]

Good news out of Little Rock, UALR just hit a shot from 30 ft at the buzzer to beat Arkansas State. The shot was unbelieveable, bounced off the rim backboard and then fell in the hoop. SportsCenter top 10 quality shot.

[CMJ]

Not a clue how the breakers work in the east not that it's a 3 way tie.

EAST

Florida Atlantic 8-4 12-11

Troy 8-4 13-10

Middle Tennessee 8-4 13-11

Western Kentucky 5-6 12-11

South Alabama 5-7 13-11

FIU 4-8 7-18

WEST

Arkansas State 8-3 13-9

Louisiana-Lafayette 7-4 10-12

North Texas 7-5 14-8

Denver 6-5 13-9

Louisiana-Monroe 5-8 10-14

Arkansas-Little Rock 3-8 7-15

New Orleans 2-10 7-16

[meanrob]

I don't get this league.....crazy.

[UNTFan23]

WEST

Arkansas State 8-3 13-9

Louisiana-Lafayette 7-4 10-12

North Texas 7-5 14-8

Denver 6-5 13-9

Louisiana-Monroe 5-8 10-14

Arkansas-Little Rock 3-8 7-15

New Orleans 2-10 7-16

Is the only reason why ULL is higher than us because we lost to them earlier in the season? Hopefully we beat them on Senior night.

[CMJ]

Is the only reason why ULL is higher than us because we lost to them earlier in the season? Hopefully we beat them on Senior night.

Well that too...but 7-4 is better than 7-5.

Edited February 5, 2010 by CMJ

[CMJ]

Updated RPI's

151 North Texas

160 Troy

162 Denver

168 ASU

172 WKU

200 FAU

202 MTSU

206 USA

239 ULL

256 UALR

260 ULM

273 FIU

333 UNO

[Censored by Laurie]

ESPN still has the Sun Belt projected as the 15 seed...though I don't see how the Summit League is a 14 right now. A few big upsets in the Summit, Big West and Big Sky tourneys would go a long way.

[CMJ]

I know the committee uses all sorts of measuring sticks and things like RPI and power rankings is only part of the equation. That said, with us being the best RPI at 150, I'm concerned the Belt might get thrown in the 16's.

[MeanGreenTexan]

OK. So Troy slays MT, we get help from ULM, and a nice surprise from UALR. Of course, we weren't expecting UNO or FIU to help...

So going forward, are there certain scenarios that would benefit UNT more than others? Obviously, we want ULL and ASU to lose as many as possible, but what about the East? Who should we be pulling for to win?

I think the biggest game left on the calendar is our matchup with ULL at home, and barring serious injury or anything, and assuming Denver continues to stink on the road, I think we should be on a 6 game win streak heading into that game.

[CMJ]

Root against MTSU/Troy/FAU MeanGreenTexan. If they are playing each other pull for MTSU because they own the tiebreaker over us -- so we aren't as likely to pass them as the other two schools. There's a good chance Troy and FAU both lose games on Saturday, so if we can sneak out of FIU with a win - we suddenly are very much in play for the 3 seed.

Edited February 5, 2010 by CMJ