2026 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Basics
Format
For the second season in a row, the Sun Belt is going with a diabolical seven-round ladder bracket that allows all 14 teams to participate and for both the women’s (day sessions) and men’s (night sessions) tournament, while keeping both events in the same venue over the same days. The bottom four teams will need to win seven games in as many days to claim the auto bid (not likely), while the top two seeds only need to win on Sunday and Monday.
Of course, this format would work better in a conference
that wasn’t so even. Last season, there was a four-way tie at the top of the league. After all of the tiebreakers were accounted for, the two co-champs ranked highest in the NET, 91st-ranked Arkansas State and No. 107 Troy, were relegated to Saturday’s quarterfinals, while 119th-ranked South Alabama and defending tournament champ James Madison, 156th, were placed in the semifinals.
This season, Troy won the regular-season crown by a full-game, but there was a six-way tie for second at 11-7. As a result, the second-ranked Sun Belt team in the NET, Arkansas State (142, four spots behind Troy) ended up as the No. 7 seed, a fate even worse than what their draw as a co-champ a year ago. So, the Red Wolves will need to win five games in five days to win the title.
Here’s where all six 11-7 teams rank in the NET in order, followed by their seeding and how many games they’ll need to win.
- Arkansas State (142 in NET, 7 seed, Third Round, five games)
- Marshall (162 in NET, 2 seed, Semifinals, two games)
- South Alabama (176, 6 seed, Fourth Round, four games)
- App State (183, 4 seed, Quarterfinals, three games)
- Coastal Carolina (217, 3 seed, Quarterfinals, three games)
- Texas State (236, 5 seed, Fourth Round, four games).
If I were a Sun Belt athletic director, I would throw this tournament format into the Gulf of Mexico.
Site
This will be the Sun Belt Tournament’s sixth straight season in Pensacola, Florida, with the event exclusively at the Pensacola Bay Center for the fifth season in a row.
Schedule
Downloadable PDF Bracket
TV/Streaming Info
ESPN+ ($) will stream all games before the championship.
First Round (Tues. 3/3)
Gm. 1: (13) Georgia State (10-21, 7-11) vs. (12) Louisiana (10-21, 7-11), 6
The Ragin’ Cajuns won 82-72 on 1/29 in Lafayette.
Gm. 2: (14) ULM (4-27, 1-17) vs. (11) Old Dominion (11-20, 7-11), 8:30*
The Warhawks won 85-79 on 2/4 in Norfolk.
Second Round (Wed. 3/4)
Gm. 3: Gm. 1 winner vs. (9) James Madison (17-14, 9-9), 6
Gm. 4: Gm. 2 winner vs. (10) Georgia Southern (16-15, 8-10), 8:30*
Third Round (Thurs. 3/5)
Gm. 5: Gm. 3 winner vs. (8) Southern Miss (16-15, 9-9), 6
Gm. 6: Gm. 4 winner vs. (7) Arkansas State (20-11, 11-7), 8:30*
Fourth Round (Fri. 3/6)
Gm. 7: Gm. 5 winner vs. (5) Texas State (19-12, 11-7), 6
Gm. 8: Gm. 6 winner vs. (6) South Alabama (21-10, 11-7), 8:30*
Quarterfinals (Sat. 3/7)
Gm. 9: Gm. 7 winner vs. (4) App State (19-12, 11-7), 6:30
Gm. 10: Gm. 8 winner vs. (3) Coastal Carolina (19-12, 11-7), 9*
Semifinals (Sun. 3/8)
Gm. 11: Gm. 9 winner vs. (1) Troy (20-11. 12-6), 6
Gm. 12: Gm. 10 winner vs. (2) Marshall (19-12, 11-7), 8:30*
Championship (Mon. 3/9)
Gm. 13: Semifinal winners, 7 (ESPN2)
Mayhem Potential
Data originally posted by Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitter in 2020 with my own additions for the seasons beyond.
Given how close Sun Belt regular seasons are, you shouldn’t be surprised by the spread of conference tournaments by seed. The No. 1 seed has won just three titles since the NCAA field expanded to 68, with the No. 2 and 3 seeds also claiming a trio.
- 3 seed (3): 2014, 2022, 2025
- 2 seed (3): 2018, 2023, 2024
- 1 seed (3): 2015, 2016, 2019
- 6 seed (2): 2013, 2017
- 4 seed (1): 2021 (East Division)
- 5 seed (1): 2011 (West Division)
- 7 seed (1): 2015
NCAA Seeding Record In The 68-Team Era
Years with an NCAA win are in bold.
- 11 seed (1): 2013 (at-large)
- 12 seed (2): 2016, 2024
- 13 seed (1): 2023
- 14 seed (4): 2014, 2015, 2019, 2025
- 15 seed (2): 2017, 2018
- 16 seed (4): 2011, 2012, 2013 (automatic), 2022
The last two NCAA wins came courtesy of JMU, who knocked off Wisconsin in a 12-over-5 upset in March 2024, and Little Rock, who needed two OTs to win its 5/12 matchup against Purdue in 2016. The Trojans are now in the OVC and heading to the United Athletic Conference (how the WAC is being rebranded) next season.
Troy, Marshall, and Arkansas State (with five wins) are more likely to earn a 14 seed than any of the other 11 teams, with some contenders even ending up on the 16 line in recent bracket projections.
Last NCAA Tournament Appearances
Troy: 2025 (14 seed, 1st Round)
James Madison 2024 (12 seed, 2nd Round)
Louisiana: 2023 (13 seed, 1st Round)
Georgia State: 2022 (16 seed, 1st Round)
Appalachian State: 2021 (16 seed, 1st Round)
Old Dominion: 2019 (14 seed, 1st Round, C-USA member)
Marshall: 2018 (13 seed, 2nd Round, C-USA member)
Coastal Carolina: 2015 (16 seed, Round of 64, Big South member)
Southern Mississippi: 2012 (9 seed, at-large, Round of 64, C-USA member)
South Alabama: 2008 (10 seed, at-large, 1st Round)
Arkansas State: 1999 (15 seed, 1st Round)
Texas State: 1997 (16 seed, 1st Round, Southland member)
ULM: 1996 (15 seed, 1st Round, Southland member)
Georgia Southern: 1992 (15 seed, 1st Round, TAAC (ASUN) member)
All 14 Sun Belt members have reached the field in the 68/65/64-team era. However, six of them have to go back a bit in their conference membership history to find their last trip.
