Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament explained
| Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament |
| Optional Subheader: | Conference basketball championship |
| Sport: | College basketball |
| Conference: | Sun Belt Conference |
| Number Of Teams: | 14 |
| Format: | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current Stadium: | Pensacola Bay Center |
| Current Location: | Pensacola, FL |
| Years: | 1977–present |
| Most Recent: | 2024 |
| Current Champion: | James Madison |
| Most Championships: | Western Kentucky (9) |
| Television: | ESPN2 |
| Website: | Sun Belt Men's Basketball |
| All Stadiums: | Charlotte Coliseum
Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum
Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
Hampton Coliseum
E.A. Diddle Arena
Richmond Coliseum
Mobile Civic Center
Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Barton Coliseum
Cajundome
Mitchell Center
Alltel Arena
Lakefront Arena
UNT Coliseum
Murphy Center
Summit Arena
Hartsell Arena & Pensacola Bay Center |
| All Locations: | Charlotte, NC (1977–1980, 1989)
Jacksonville, FL (1981)
Birmingham, AL (1982–1984,1986,1990)
Hampton, VA (1985)
Bowling Green, KY (1987, 1994, 2003–2004)
Richmond, VA (1988)
Mobile, AL (1991, 2001, 2008)
Biloxi, MS (1992–1993)
Little Rock, AR (1995–1997)
Lafayette, LA (1998–1999, 2007)
North Little Rock, AR (2000)
New Orleans, LA (2002, 2014–2019)
Denton, TX (2005)
Murfreesboro, TN (2006)
Hot Springs, AR (2009–2013)
Pensacola, FL (2021–present) |
The Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament has been played every year since the formation of the Sun Belt Conference prior to the 1976–77 American collegiate academic year. The winner of the tournament is guaranteed an automatic berth into the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
History
Format
The size and format of the Sun Belt tournament has varied widely since its establishment in 1976. The size of the conference has ranged between a minimum of six teams and as many as thirteen.
Nonetheless, the tournament has consistently utilized a simple single-elimination style tournament. Through the 2018 edition of the tournament, with a few exceptions, all conference members were typically invited to each tournament. Depending on the total number of teams in the league during a particular year, higher-seeded teams have sometimes received byes into the quarterfinal or semifinal rounds. Teams have always been seeded based on regular season conference records, although some modifications were made when the league was split into divisions during the 2000s.
During the 2018 offseason, the conference announced radical changes to its basketball scheduling and tournament format.[1] A year later, many of these changes were reevaluated and placed on hold;[2] the ones listed here remained in place.
- Effective with the 2019 edition forward, only 10 of the conference's 12 teams qualified for the tournament.
- The format consisted of two stepladder-style brackets. The bottom four seeds played in the first round; the 5 and 6 seeds received byes into the second round; the 3 and 4 seeds began play in the quarterfinals, and the top two seeds received a triple bye into the semifinals.
- In 2019, the bottom four seeds played first-round games at campus sites, hosted by the higher seed. The winners then joined the top six teams at Lakefront Arena.
- Starting in 2020, all games prior to the semifinals will be at campus sites, again hosted by the higher seeds. The semifinals and finals remained in New Orleans, but moved to the Smoothie King Center.
On March 3, 2020, the conference announced that it had reached an agreement for Pensacola, Florida to host the men's and women's tournaments from 2021 to 2025. During that time, the tournament will completely abandon the use of campus sites and return to a format that features all conference members. First- and second-round games will be played simultaneously at Hartsell Arena on the campus of Pensacola State College and the Pensacola Bay Center, with semifinals and finals at the Bay Center.[3]
Hosts
With some exceptions, the tournament has historically been played at the home gym of one of the conference's members (e.g. Louisiana's Cajundome, North Texas' UNT Coliseum) or at a major arena in a nearby city (e.g. Mobile Civic Center near South Alabama).
Some of the more common host venues have included the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina (Charlotte), the venue now known as Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama (UAB), Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas (Little Rock), and E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky (Western Kentucky).
However, the tournament has been hosted at a neutral arena site each year since 2009 (Hot Springs, Arkansas, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Pensacola, Florida). Lakefront Arena in New Orleans had previously hosted the event in 2002 when UNO was still a Sun Belt member, but the Privateers have since departed the conference. The only other neutral sites to host a Sun Belt tournament were the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia (1985) and the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi (1992–1993).
NCAA performances
The Sun Belt has a storied basketball history, sending multiple teams into the NCAA tournament in the 1980s and 1990s (most recently 1994), and then again in 2008 when both regular season champion South Alabama, and tournament winner Western Kentucky received bids, and in 2013 with Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee.
Charlotte, then known athletically as UNC Charlotte, reached the Final Four in 1977, and future Sun Belt member Western Kentucky reached the Final Four in 1971. Overall, past and present Sun Belt schools have posted 21 wins in the NCAA Tournament during the time they were conference members.
Champions by year
| rowspa=2 | Season | Tournament champion | Score | Runner-up | MVP | Game site |
|---|
| 1977 | UNC Charlotte | 71–70 | | Cedric Maxwell, UNC Charlotte | Campus Sites – First Round
Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, NC) – Finals |
| 1978 | | 22–20 | | Nate Mills, New Orleans |
| 1979 | Jacksonville | 68–54 | | James Ray, Jacksonville |
| 1980 | VCU | 105–88 | UAB | Edmund Sherod, VCU |
| 1981 | VCU | 62–61 (OT) | UAB | Kenny Stancil, VCU | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum (Jacksonville, FL) |
| 1982 | UAB | 94–83 | VCU | Oliver Robinson, UAB | Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center (Birmingham, AL) |
| 1983 | UAB | 64–47 | | Cliff Pruitt, UAB |
| 1984 | UAB | 62–60 | | McKinley Singleton, UAB |
| 1985 | VCU | 87–82 | Old Dominion | Mike Schlegel, VCU | Hampton Coliseum (Hampton, VA) |
| 1986 | Jacksonville | 70–69 | UAB | Otis Smith, Jacksonville | Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center (Birmingham, AL) |
| 1987 | UAB | 72–60 | Western Kentucky | Tracy Foster, UAB | E. A. Diddle Arena (Bowling Green, KY) |
| 1988 | UNC Charlotte | 81–79 | VCU | Byron Dinkins, UNC Charlotte | Richmond Coliseum (Richmond, VA) |
| 1989 | South Alabama | 105–59 | | Jeff Hodge, South Alabama | Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, NC) |
| 1990 | South Florida | 81–74 | | Radenko Dobraš, South Florida | Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center (Birmingham, AL) |
| 1991 | South Alabama | 86–81 | | Chris Gatling, Old Dominion | Mobile Civic Center (Mobile, AL) |
| 1992 | Southwestern Louisiana | 75–71 | | Todd Hill, Southwestern Louisiana | Mississippi Coast Coliseum (Biloxi, MS) |
| 1993 | Western Kentucky | 72–63 | New Orleans | Darnell Mee, Western Kentucky |
| 1994 | Southwestern Louisiana | 78–72 | Western Kentucky | Michael Allen, Southwestern Louisiana | E. A. Diddle Arena (Bowling Green, KY) |
| 1995 | Western Kentucky | 82–79 | | Chris Robinson, Western Kentucky | Barton Coliseum (Little Rock, AR) |
| 1996 | New Orleans | 57–56 | | Lewis Sims, New Orleans |
| 1997 | South Alabama | 44–43 | | Rusty Yoder, South Alabama |
| 1998 | South Alabama | 62–59 | | Toby Madison, South Alabama | Cajundome (Lafayette, LA) |
| 1999 | Arkansas State | 65–48 | | Chico Fletcher, Arkansas State |
| 2000 | Louisiana–Lafayette | 51–50 | | Virgil Stanescu, South Alabama | Alltel Arena (North Little Rock, AR) |
| 2001 | Western Kentucky | 64–54 | | Chris Marcus, Western Kentucky | Mitchell Center (Mobile, AL) |
| 2002 | Western Kentucky | 76–70 | | Derek Robinson, Western Kentucky | Lakefront Arena (New Orleans, LA) |
| 2003 | Western Kentucky | 64–52 | | Patrick Sparks, Western Kentucky | E. A. Diddle Arena (Bowling Green, KY) |
| 2004 | Louisiana–Lafayette Vacated | 67–58 | | Bo McCalebb, New Orleans |
| 2005 | Louisiana–Lafayette Vacated | 88–69 | Denver | Tiras Wade, Louisiana-Lafayette | UNT Coliseum (Denton, TX) |
| 2006 | South Alabama | 95–70 | Western Kentucky | Chey Christie, South Alabama | Murphy Center (Murfreesboro, TN) |
| 2007 | North Texas | 83–75 | | Calvin Watson, North Texas | Campus Sites – First Round
Cajundome (Lafayette, LA) – Finals |
| 2008 | Western Kentucky | 67–57 | | Jeremy Evans, Western Kentucky | Campus Sites – First Round
Mitchell Center (Mobile, AL) – Finals |
| 2009 | Western Kentucky | 64–55 | | A. J. Slaughter, Western Kentucky | Summit Arena (Hot Springs, AR) |
| 2010 | North Texas | 66–63 | | Eric Tramiel, North Texas |
| 2011 | Arkansas–Little Rock | 64–63 | | Solomon Bozeman, Arkansas-Little Rock |
| 2012 | Western Kentucky | 74–70 | North Texas | George Fant, Western Kentucky |
| 2013 | Western Kentucky | 65–63 | FIU | T. J. Price, Western Kentucky |
| 2014 | Louisiana–Lafayette | 82–81 (OT) | Georgia State | Bryant Mbamalu, Louisiana-Lafayette | Lakefront Arena (New Orleans, LA) |
| 2015 | Georgia State | 38–36 | Georgia Southern | Kevin Ware, Georgia State |
| 2016 | Little Rock | 70–50 | Louisiana–Monroe | Roger Woods, Little Rock |
| 2017 | Troy | 59–53 | Texas State | Wesley Person Jr., Troy |
| 2018 | Georgia State | 74–61 | Texas–Arlington | D'Marcus Simonds, Georgia State |
| 2019 | Georgia State | 73–64 | Texas–Arlington | Malik Benlevi, Georgia State | Campus Sites – First Round
Lakefront Arena (New Orleans, LA) |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic |
| 2021 | Appalachian State | 80–73 | Georgia State | Michael Almonacy, Appalachian State | Hartsell Arena – Select first-and second-round games
Pensacola Bay Center – All remaining games (Pensacola, FL) |
| 2022 | Georgia State | 80–71 | Louisiana | Corey Allen, Georgia State | Pensacola Bay Center (Pensacola, FL) |
| 2023 | Louisiana | 71–66 | | Jordan Brown, Louisiana |
| 2024 | James Madison | 91–71 | | Noah Freidel, James Madison |
| 2025 | | | | | |
- Notes
Performance by school
| School | Championships | Years |
|---|
| Western Kentucky | | 1993, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 |
| South Alabama | | 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2006 |
| Louisiana | | 1992, 1994, 2000, 2014, 2023 |
| UAB | | 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987 |
| Georgia State | | 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022 |
| VCU | | 1980, 1981, 1985 |
| Charlotte | | 1977, 1988 |
| Jacksonville | | 1979, 1986 |
| New Orleans | | 1978, 1996 |
| North Texas | | 2007, 2010 |
| Little Rock | | 2011, 2016 |
| Appalachian State | | 2021 |
| Arkansas State | | 1999 |
| James Madison | | 2024 |
| South Florida | | 1990 |
| Troy | | 2017 |
|
- Teams in bold represent current Sun Belt Conference members.
Teams currently in Sun Belt with no championships: Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Louisiana-Monroe, Marshall, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Texas State
Broadcasters
Television
Radio
See also
Sun Belt Conference women's basketball tournament
Notes and References
- Sun Belt Conference Announces Strategic Men's Basketball Plan . Sun Belt Conference . June 4, 2018 . July 27, 2018.
- Sun Belt CEOs Conclude Spring Meeting, Conference to Reevaluate Men's Basketball Strategic Plan . Sun Belt Conference . June 3, 2019 . June 6, 2019.
- Pensacola Selected to Host 2021-25 Basketball Championships . Sun Belt Conference . March 3, 2020 . March 3, 2020.
- Web site: Championship Week Presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods Schedule - ESPN Press Room U.S.. 4 March 2013.
- Web site: Championship Week: Coverage of a Record 137 Men's Games Begins March 1 | ESPN MediaZone . 2012-02-29 . dead . https://archive.today/20120301005847/http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2012/02/27/championship-week-coverage-of-a-record-137-men%E2%80%99s-games-begins-march-1/ . 2012-03-01 .
- Web site: Championship Week Begins Thursday, March 4 | ESPN MediaZone . 2010-12-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100412122753/http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2010/03/championship-week-begins-thursday-march-4/ . 2010-04-12 .
- Web site: 20090226_ChampionshipWeekBeginsMarch5 . 2009-03-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090307005937/http://www.espnmediazone.com/press_releases/2009_02_feb/20090226_ChampionshipWeekBeginsMarch5.htm . 2009-03-07 .
- Web site: What to Watch: College basketball lovers rejoice . 2009-03-01 . dead . https://archive.today/20090207080430/http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/MYSA03022007_whattowatch_11f571e4_html9032.html . 2009-02-07 .
- Web site: Sun Belt Championship Highlights: Western Kentucky 74 – North Texas 70 | Westwood One SportsWestwood One Sports . 2013-02-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221339/http://dialglobalsports.com/2012/03/sun-belt-championship-highlights-western-kentucky-74-north-texas-70/ . 2016-03-03 . dead .
- Web site: Archived copy . 2011-03-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110307140005/http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=4100&ATCLID=205101206 . 2011-03-07 . dead .
