2024 Sun Belt Tournament Awards & Takeaways

CBB Review hands out awards for each conference tournament in 2024. Up next: The Sun Belt Tournament.

In Pensacola, madness often ensues. At the Sun Belt Tournament, it was no exception. The Sun Belt preview article predicted the Mountaineers of App State to defeat James Madison in the finals, but the Mountaineers didn’t even make the final. Instead, it was the Red Wolves of Arkansas State that took App State out at the buzzer courtesy of Freddy Hicks.

Texas State played spoiler on the other side of the bracket, defeating lower-seeded Southern Miss and Texas State before ultimately falling to the Dukes in the semis.

In the final, it was all Dukes. James Madison ran past the Red Wolves in the title game, ending up with a 91-71 victory. Look out for Mark Byington’s squad in March. 

CBB Review Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Player

Xavier Brown, James Madison

Brown started the last four games of the regular season and the games against Marshall and Texas State, then got the start in the championship against Arkansas State. That’s when the Virginia native stepped up, posting a career-high 21 points as part of a 21-10-3 statline that also included two steals. When’s the best time to have a career day? The conference championship, of course. Congrats, Xavier Brown. 

CBB Review All-Sun Belt Tournament First Team

• G: Tyren Moore, Georgia Southern – 2 games played (27.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.5 RPG)
• G: Xavier Brown, James Madison – 2 games played (13.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.7 APG, 2.3 SPG)
• G: Noah Freidel, James Madison – 2 games played (17.3 PPG, 2.7 APG, 2.7 RPG)
• G: Freddy Hicks, Arkansas State – 3 games played (22.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 90.5 FT%)
• G: Terrence Edwards Jr., James Madison – 3 games played (15.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.0 APG)

James Madison’s NCAA Tournament Prediction

Sweet Sixteen

Starting off on the first day of the regular season when they took down Tom Izzo and the Spartans, the Dukes have made waves nationally. They play a balanced brand of basketball, have ample depth, hunt the boards, find open passing lanes, and limit turnovers. That’s a pretty good recipe for an extended run in March.

This team has only lost to two other teams all year, Southern Miss and App State. Sure, KenPom isn’t super high on the Dukes, placing them at 60th, between Washington and UCF, but we all know the metrics undervalue mid-majors anyway, so I don’t really care about that.

Terrence Edwards Jr., Noah Freidel, T.J. Bickerstaff, and Julien Wooden are all double-digit scorers, and Xavier Brown, Michael Green, Jaylen Carey, and Raekwon Horton (former Charleston Cougar) can all be counted on to get a bucket, too. 

The Dukes will probably receive an 11-12 seed, which is a very good draw compared to most previous Sun Belt victors. Watch out for the Dukes, y’all. Much like last year when I told y’all Florida Atlantic was a lock to make at least the Sweet Sixteen, I’m saying that James Madison is definitely able to make the second weekend. Not a lock, no, but they’ve got a decent chance.