2020 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament: Matchups, players to know & more
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 2020 Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball tournament will determine which team gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The tournament is set to begin March 7 and run through March 15, with the first few rounds taking place at the home gym of the highest-seeded schools and the semifinal and final taking place in New Orleans.
Ten of the conference’s 12 teams made the tournament.
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Here is the schedule of the Sun Belt.
FIRST ROUND – MARCH 7
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette def. No. 9 Arkansas State, 73-66.
No. 10 Coastal Carolina def. No. 7 Texas-Arlington, 63-62.
SECOND ROUND – MARCH 9
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 5 Georgia Southern def. No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette, 82-81.
No. 6 Appalachian State def. No. 10 Coastal Carolina, 70-65.
QUARTERFINALS – MARCH 11
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 5 Georgia Southern def. No. 4 Georgia State, 81-62.
No. 3 Texas State vs. No. 6 Appalachian State, 85-68.
SEMIFINALS – MARCH 14
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 1 Little Rock vs. No. 5 Georgia Southern (11:30 a.m. ET)
No. 2 South Alabama vs. No. 3 Texas State (2 p.m. ET)
CHAMPIONSHIP – MARCH 15
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner (7 p.m. ET)
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SUN BELT CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}5 PLAYERS TO KNOW
NIJAL PEARSON, TEXAS STATE: Nijal Pearson was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season. The Texas State star averaged 19.3 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Bobcats during the regular season.
RUOT MONYYONG, LITTLE ROCK: Ruot Monyyong was named both the Defensive Player of the Year and the Newcomer of the Year for the 2019-20 season. The junior averaged 11.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal per game.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MYLIK WILSON: LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE: Mylik Wilson was the Freshman of the Year for Louisiana-Lafayette. The guard averaged 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists during the regular season.
JOSH AJAYI, SOUTH ALABAMA: Josh Ajayi earned All-Conference honors while leading South Alabama to a No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Jaguars forward had 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in the regular season.
KANE WILLIAMS, GEORGIA STATE: Kane Williams was given First Team All-Sun Belt for his performance during the 2019-20 regular season. Williams averaged 14.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists.
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2019 CHAMPION
Georgia State is the defending champion. The Panthers have won two consecutive Sun Belt titles.