Mark Byington and the Eagles have earned a bye in three of their four years in the Sun Belt.
Photo by: AJ Henderson - Georgia Southern Athletics
Men’s Basketball Finishes Third in Sun Belt, Earns Tourney Bye
3/4/2018 7:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles will play Friday, March 9, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3.
NEW ORLEANS – For the second straight season, the Georgia Southern men's basketball team has earned the third seed in next week's Sun Belt Conference Championship at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.
The Eagles will meet the winner of No. 6 ULM vs. No. 11 Arkansas State Friday, March 9, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3. The Warhawks and Red Wolves face off Wednesday, March 7, at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Georgia Southern fell 66-64 in overtime to ULM Feb. 8 in Hanner Fieldhouse in the teams' only meeting. GS and Arkansas State split the season series with each squad winning at home. The Eagles defeated Arkansas State 80-49 in Hanner Jan. 4 but lost 91-89 in Jonesboro Feb. 3.
The championship begins on Wednesday, March 7 and concludes with the title game on Selection Sunday, March 11. The first-round, quarterfinal and semifinal games are set for live coverage on ESPN3 with Sunday's championship game slated for live coverage on ESPN2. All games will be available on the WatchESPN app.
Louisiana (26-5, 16-2 Sun Belt) entered the final week of the season having already clinched the outright regular-season title and secured the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. The Ragin' Cajuns claimed their first Sun Belt regular-season title since sharing the 1999-2000 title with South Alabama and their first outright regular-season title since joining the conference in 1991-92.
Georgia State (21-10, 12-6) earned a first-round bye with the No. 2 seed, Georgia Southern (20-11, 11-7) secured the No. 3 seed and UTA (19-12, 10-8) secured the No. 4 seed to round out the first-round byes to the quarterfinals.
The Eagles reached 20 wins for the second time in four years and joined Louisiana and UTA as the only three Sun Belt schools to reach double-digit conference wins in each of the last four seasons.
2018 SUN BELT MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, March 7 (First Round)
Game 1 – #9 Texas State vs. #8 Coastal Carolina (ESPN3), 11:30 AM
Game 2 – #12 Little Rock vs. #5 Appalachian State (ESPN3), 2:00 PM
Game 3 – #10 South Alabama vs. #7 Troy (ESPN3), 5:00 PM
Game 4 – #11 Arkansas State vs. #6 ULM (ESPN3), 7:30 PM
Friday, March 9 (Quarterfinals)
Game 5 – Game 1 Winner vs. #1 Louisiana (ESPN3), 11:30 AM
Game 6 – Game 2 Winner vs. #4 UTA (ESPN3), 2:00 PM
Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. #2 Georgia State (ESPN3), 5:00 PM
Game 8 – Game 4 Winner vs. #3 Georgia Southern (ESPN3), 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 10 (Semifinals)
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (ESPN3), 11:30 AM
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN3), 2:00 PM
Sunday, March 11 (Championship)
Game 11 - Championship Game (ESPN2), 1:00 PM
Championship Seeds and Conference Records
1. Louisiana (16-2)
2. Georgia State (12-6)
3. Georgia Southern (11-7)
4. UTA (10-8)
5. Appalachian State (9-9)
6. ULM (9-9)
7. Troy (9-9)
8. Coastal Carolina (8-10)
9. Texas State (7-11)
10. South Alabama (7-11)
11. Arkansas State (6-12)
12. Little Rock (4-14)
Georgia Southern Athletics provides current information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, which is fully responsive across all mobile devices. Information on Eagle athletics can also be found through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics and Instagram.com/GSAthletics. To purchase tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.
The Eagles will meet the winner of No. 6 ULM vs. No. 11 Arkansas State Friday, March 9, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3. The Warhawks and Red Wolves face off Wednesday, March 7, at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Georgia Southern fell 66-64 in overtime to ULM Feb. 8 in Hanner Fieldhouse in the teams' only meeting. GS and Arkansas State split the season series with each squad winning at home. The Eagles defeated Arkansas State 80-49 in Hanner Jan. 4 but lost 91-89 in Jonesboro Feb. 3.
The championship begins on Wednesday, March 7 and concludes with the title game on Selection Sunday, March 11. The first-round, quarterfinal and semifinal games are set for live coverage on ESPN3 with Sunday's championship game slated for live coverage on ESPN2. All games will be available on the WatchESPN app.
Louisiana (26-5, 16-2 Sun Belt) entered the final week of the season having already clinched the outright regular-season title and secured the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. The Ragin' Cajuns claimed their first Sun Belt regular-season title since sharing the 1999-2000 title with South Alabama and their first outright regular-season title since joining the conference in 1991-92.
Georgia State (21-10, 12-6) earned a first-round bye with the No. 2 seed, Georgia Southern (20-11, 11-7) secured the No. 3 seed and UTA (19-12, 10-8) secured the No. 4 seed to round out the first-round byes to the quarterfinals.
The Eagles reached 20 wins for the second time in four years and joined Louisiana and UTA as the only three Sun Belt schools to reach double-digit conference wins in each of the last four seasons.
2018 SUN BELT MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, March 7 (First Round)
Game 1 – #9 Texas State vs. #8 Coastal Carolina (ESPN3), 11:30 AM
Game 2 – #12 Little Rock vs. #5 Appalachian State (ESPN3), 2:00 PM
Game 3 – #10 South Alabama vs. #7 Troy (ESPN3), 5:00 PM
Game 4 – #11 Arkansas State vs. #6 ULM (ESPN3), 7:30 PM
Friday, March 9 (Quarterfinals)
Game 5 – Game 1 Winner vs. #1 Louisiana (ESPN3), 11:30 AM
Game 6 – Game 2 Winner vs. #4 UTA (ESPN3), 2:00 PM
Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. #2 Georgia State (ESPN3), 5:00 PM
Game 8 – Game 4 Winner vs. #3 Georgia Southern (ESPN3), 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 10 (Semifinals)
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (ESPN3), 11:30 AM
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN3), 2:00 PM
Sunday, March 11 (Championship)
Game 11 - Championship Game (ESPN2), 1:00 PM
Championship Seeds and Conference Records
1. Louisiana (16-2)
2. Georgia State (12-6)
3. Georgia Southern (11-7)
4. UTA (10-8)
5. Appalachian State (9-9)
6. ULM (9-9)
7. Troy (9-9)
8. Coastal Carolina (8-10)
9. Texas State (7-11)
10. South Alabama (7-11)
11. Arkansas State (6-12)
12. Little Rock (4-14)
Georgia Southern Athletics provides current information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, which is fully responsive across all mobile devices. Information on Eagle athletics can also be found through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics and Instagram.com/GSAthletics. To purchase tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.
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