#Sun belt tournament full#

#Sun belt tournament full#

Marshall is the best team in the Sun Belt, full stop. If I was going to pick one of the four favorites, I’d take the Dukes at close to 4-to-1. So, I quite like JMU’s path to the championship game. Also, the Golden Eagles’ pick-and-roll defense is trash, which bodes poorly against JMU. However, as you’ll read later, I have Southern Miss on upset watch.

JMU would likely have Southern Miss on deck. The worst-case scenario is JMU catches Troy in its first tournament game, and while Troy’s defense matches up well with JMU, the Trojans can’t score. Plus, the offense should be able to mask the Dukes' defensive issues.

And when Morse and Molson are dicing up defenses, the Dukes can overwhelm any opponent in this bracket. Simply put, great guard play is huge in March. However, both guards are vital to the JMU offense, and these guys are why I’m betting on James Madison to be Sun Belt champs. Morse missed some time in the middle of the season, although the Dukes largely survived without him. NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners February 5, 2022 Vado Morse ( gets the Game Tying Layup for James Madison with 8.9 seconds left to tie 71-71 with Hofstra to force OT /e73xpUiTp6 Instead, Blue Ribbon forecasted the Golden Eagles would finish last in the Sun Belt, and our own Jim Root cashed a 200-to-1 ticket because of it. True to its name, the “Fun Belt” was electric this year, and the realignment was a big reason why.įor example, the season's final week saw Southern Miss steal the title away from Marshall after Old Dominion upset the Herd at home.Įven better, nobody expected the Golden Eagles to be competitive this season, much less to surface as league champs. Moreover, the Sun Belt went from 17th in KenPom’s conference rankings last season to 13th this year. All four additions finished in the top six of the standings, with Southern Miss and Marshall finishing atop the league standings. While most of the Sun Belt’s realignment was football-focused, the results significantly upped the ceiling of the basketball league. The league added Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss from Conference USA, alongside James Madison from the Colonial Athletic.Īdditionally, UT Arlington left for the WAC and Little Rock went to the Ohio Valley. Game times in CT.At the beginning of this season, the Sun Belt embarked on an adventurous quest. E4 Appalachian StateĬhampionship – Monday, March 8 – Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, FLĮ1 Georgia State vs. Semifinals – Sunday, March 7 – Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, FLĮ2 Coastal Carolina vs. Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 6 – Pensacola Bay Center & Hartsell Center, Pensacola, FL The top two teams from each division received a bye into the quarterfinals.įirst round – Friday, March 5 – Pensacola Bay Center & Hartsell Center, Pensacola, FL Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teams were seeded by their place in their division. The winner received the Sun Belt's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA tournament.Īll 12 conference teams qualified for the tournament. All tournament games were played at Pensacola Bay Center & the Hartsell Center at Pensacola State College between March 5–8. The 2021 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for Sun Belt Conference during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.