2025 Sun Belt Tournament Preview & Conference Awards

CBB Review prepares you for every conference tournament leading up to Selection Sunday on Mar. 16. Up next: The Sun Belt Tournament.

Four teams finished tied for first in the conference standings at 13-5. South Alabama earned the one seed thanks to tiebreakers, but the gap between the first and fifth-best teams is razor-thin.

James Madison was last year’s winner, beating Arkansas State by 20 before beating Wisconsin in the first round by 11. They’ll look to defend their title, which was last done by Georgia State in 2019.

Interestingly, the one seed has only won once in the last seven Sun Belt tournaments. South Alabama and Louisiana are currently tied for the most active conference tournament championships with five.

The way this bracket is set up is incredible. The bottom four seeds will have to win seven games in seven days to win the tournament, while the top two need to win just two. If you love Cinderella runs, there’s a good chance this tournament will have one.

Sun Belt Tournament play starts on Tuesday, Mar. 4, making it one of the first Division I conferences to open postseason play.

2025 Sun Belt Conference Awards

Player of the Year: Tayton Conerway, Troy

Freshman of the Year: Bryce Lindsay, James Madison

Transfer of the Year: Mark Freeman, James Madison

Coach of the Year: Richie Riley, South Alabama

First Team:

• G: Barry Dunning Jr., South Alabama (14.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.9 SPG)
• G: Mark Freeman, James Madison (15.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.2 APG, 0.8 SPG)
• G: Tayton Conerway, Troy (13.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.0 APG, 3.0 SPG)
• G: Myles Tate, App State (16.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.9 SPG)
• F: Obinna Anochili-Killen, Marshall (14.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.8 SPG, 3.0 BPG)

Second Team:

• G: Taryn Todd, Arkansas State (15.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.2 SPG)
• G: Adante’ Holiman, Georgia Southern (16.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1,1 SPG)
• G: Sean Durugordon, Old Dominion (15.3 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.3 SPG)
• F: CJ Huntley, App State (15.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.7 BPG, 0.6 SPG)
• F: Tylan Pope, Texas State (16.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 0.6 APG, 1.5 BPG, 0.7 SPG)

2025 Sun Belt Tournament Simulation

First Round – Tues., Mar. 4

12. Southern Miss (10-21, 5-13) vs. 13. Coastal Carolina (10-21, 3-15) – 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+

Southern Miss has lost eight straight games, and they still finished two games ahead of Coastal Carolina. Southern Miss went just 1-13 away from home this season, and don’t expect win number two in this one. This is arguably the worst game in all of the conference tournament season.

Ariel’s Pick: 13. Coastal Carolina

11. Louisiana (11-20, 8-10) vs. 14. ULM (7-21, 3-15) – 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+

Louisiana fired coach Bob Marlin before conference play and still finished 8-10. These two teams actually played two pretty close games, with Louisiana winning both with a combined margin of 8 points. Don’t be deceived by the difference in wins, this game will be a single-digit result.

Ariel’s Pick: 11. Louisiana

Second Round – Wed., Mar. 5

9. Georgia Southern (16-15, 8-10) vs. 13. Coastal Carolina – 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+

When these two teams played, Georgia Southern was 9-9, and Coastal Carolina was 8-10. Coastal Carolina finished the season 2-11. That’s all you really need to know.

Georgia Southern rebounds the ball well and should get enough extra chances to pull away. Coastal Carolina does shoot the ball at the second-best rate in the Sun Belt, though, so don’t be surprised if they get hot and pull off the win.

Ariel’s Pick: 9. Georgia Southern

10. Old Dominion (12-19, 8-10) vs. 11. Louisiana – 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+

Both teams finished with the same conference record, but ODU ended the season on a lower note, going 2-7 to close out the season. Louisiana, meanwhile, finished 4-5.

If Robert Davis Jr. and Sean Durugordon both go for 20, Old Dominion wins this game easily, but Louisiana has a lot of talent, and that will be displayed as they try to keep this season alive.

Ariel’s Pick: 11. Louisiana

Third Round – Thu., Mar. 6

8. Georgia State (13-15, 8-10) vs. 9. Georgia Southern – 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+

Nothing like an in-state rivalry tournament game. These two teams played in the final game of the season, and Georgia Southern won by one at home. Adante’ Holiman hit six threes in the win, and expect him to have a big game again. Georgia Southern keeps the tournament hopes alive in this one.

Ariel’s Pick: 9. Georgia Southern

7. Texas State (16-15, 9-9) vs. 11. Louisiana – 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+

Can Louisiana keep it going? These two teams split the season series, but Texas State come into this one winners of three of the last four, including wins over South Alabama and James Madison. Thanks for a great two days, Louisiana.

Ariel’s Pick: 7. Texas State

Fourth Round – Fri., Mar. 7

5. Marshall (19-12, 12-6) vs. 9. Georgia Southern – 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+

The fact that we’re on the fourth day of the tournament and haven’t cracked the quarterfinal yet is hilarious. Marshall is miles ahead of the two teams Georgia Southern has played, and while the rest vs. rust question will come into play, Marshall just has too many options to drop this one. The Thundering Herd have five players who score in double figures.

Ariel’s Pick: 5. Marshall

6. Appalachian State (17-13, 10-8) vs. 7. Texas State– 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+

App State is trending in the wrong direction, losing four of five to close the season, including an 18-point road loss to Marshall. As mentioned earlier, Texas State is heading in the other direction. The X factor will be Myles Tate. He went for 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in their win earlier this season. If he can do that again, App State moves on. If not, Texas State will use momentum from the big win a day earlier to move onto the quarterfinals.

App State plays extremely slow, which can really help them control the tempo and win with coaching. It could also allow Texas State to stay in the game, and from there they just need to hit a couple shots, which they are capable of doing.

Ariel’s Pick: 7. Texas State

Quarterfinals – Sat., Mar. 8

4. Arkansas State (22-9, 13-5) vs. 5. Marshall – 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+

This is a reminder that seeding really doesn’t mean anything. Arkansas State finished with the same exact record as the one seed. These are two of the top three scoring teams in the conference, so take the over in this one. This game will come down to the rebound battle, though.

In Marshall’s win at home against this team earlier in the season, they outrebounded Arkansas State by 7. Arkansas State averages four more on the season, though. The winner of the battle will be the winner of the game, so hopefully for Marshall, they don’t have tired knees from the game the previous day.

Ariel’s Pick: 4. Arkansas State

3. Troy (20-10, 13-5) vs. 7. Texas State – 8:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+

If you think the player of the year will go one-and-done in the conference tournament, you would be mistaken. Tayton Conerway scored 24 points to go with 5 rebounds and 5 steals in the Troy win late into February, and he’ll do it again in March.

Conerway is second in the country in steals per game, and they’ll need every single one to win this game.

Ariel’s Pick: 3. Troy

Semifinals – Sun., Mar. 9

1. South Alabama (21-10, 13-5) vs. 4. Arkansas State – 5:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+

South Alabama swept the season series and did so by holding Taryn Todd in check. This will be the first game for South Alabama in eight days. Will the rust get to them? Possibly. South Alabama plays at one of the slowest tempos in the country, and Arkansas State has one of the best mid-major defenses in the country. With that combination, Arkansas State makes it to the final for their second straight season.

Ariel’s Pick: 4. Arkansas State

2. James Madison (20-11, 13-5) vs. 3. Troy – 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+

You can make a strong argument that this game features the two best players in the conference, Conerway and Mark Freeman. Freeman, the former OVC player of the year had a resurgance this year after missing all of last year, averaging 20 points a game over the final seven game stretch. Coach Preston Spradlin knows how to coach in these big games, and he will send JMU to another finals appearance.

Ariel’s Pick: 2. James Madison

Championship – Mon., Mar. 10

2. James Madison vs. 4. Arkansas State – 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2

Are you sick of this conference tournament yet? We hope not because we’ve got a rematch of last year’s final here. Last year, James Madison took care of business, winning by 20 points. The teams are much more even this year, though, with their only game of the season being decided by five points

This will be a true offense vs defense. JMU ranks in the top 100 in Kenpom in offensive efficiency, while Arkansas State is in the top 70 in defensive efficiency. Five of Arkansas State’s top 6 scorers are upperclassmen, and that experience and maturity will help this team capture its first Sun Belt Tournament championship since 1999.

Ariel’s Pick: 4. Arkansas State