Sun Belt Basketball Weekly Recap
Scores
Monday, January 9
Florida Atlantic 58, Arkansas State 50
Wednesday, January 11
Colorado State 79, Denver 75
Thursday, January 12
North Texas 84, Western Kentucky 67
Middle Tennessee 70, Florida International 59
South Alabama 70, Louisiana-Lafayette 65
Arkansas-Little Rock 72, Louisiana-Monroe 51
Saturday, January 14
North Texas 68, Louisiana-Monroe 55
Middle Tennessee 67, Florida Atlantic 54
Arkansas-Little Rock 63, Arkansas State 62
Louisiana-Lafayette 87, Florida International 81 (OT)
South Alabama 75, Troy 60
Sunday, January 15
Denver 78, Western Kentucky 65
It’s amazing to behold the developments in the early stages of the Sun Belt Conference’s 2012 men’s basketball season. A team that looked to be dead and buried before the league season even began has now risen to the top of the league alongside another program that has lurked in the shadows for a number of years.
When non-conference play ended and everyone in the Sun Belt geared up for backyard brawls within the confines of the league, the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans were 3-11. Yes, the Trojans won just three of 14 contests and appeared headed for many more months of struggle and strain. However, over the past two and a half weeks, UALR has been A-W-E-S-O-M-E. The Trojans won at Denver a few weeks ago in what was viewed as a big shocker, but this past week offered fresh ammunition for the contention that it wasn’t much of a surprise at all. The new narrative in the Belt is that UALR took its lumps against quality non-conference teams and has simply learned a lot of lessons really well. The Trojans are applying those lessons by going 5-0 in the Sun Belt to take hold of the West Division lead over 4-1 Denver. The Trojans blew out lowly Louisiana-Monroe earlier in the week, doing what any upper-tier team should against a weak sister. Then, this past Saturday, UALR showed the other primary dimension of a really good team, winning a close contest against Arkansas State. The Red Wolves gave the Trojans a battle, but coach Steve Shields’s Little Rock roster found the fortitude to prevail, keeping its Sun Belt record unblemished into the third full week of the month. Since UALR already has a road win over Denver in its hip pocket, a home win over the Pioneers later this season will go a long way to sewing up the West Division championship, which would be a great accomplishment in its own right but also an important step on the road to the NCAA Tournament.
Why? Let’s look at the East Division’s runaway success story.
The other big headline in the Sun Belt is the rise of Middle Tennessee from obscurity to the top of the standings. The Blue Raiders pasted Florida International and Florida Atlantic by double-digit margins to run their league record to 6-0, three and a half games ahead of both FAU and South Alabama in the East. Coach Kermit Davis has coached Middle Tennessee since the 2002-2003 season, and he hasn’t been able to get MTSU to the NCAA Tournament. This is a program, in fact, that hasn’t made the Big Dance since 1989. This year, however, might be the year that the men of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, break through.
Why is it so important, then, for Arkansas-Little Rock to win the West? If the Trojans do get the top seed from the West, they will avoid Middle Tennessee until the finals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, which will punch the league’s only ticket to the field of 68. If UALR somehow falls out of the top spot and allows Denver to claim the top seed in the West, the Sun Belt tourney bracket would put the Trojans in Middle Tennessee’s path in the semifinals. Therefore, the UALR-Denver duel for first in the West is going to be the event to monitor over the coming weeks.
Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer
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