2026 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament

2026 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2025–26
Teams14
SitePensacola Bay Center
Pensacola, Florida
ChampionsTroy (3rd title)
Winning coachScott Cross (2nd title)
MVPThomas Dowd (Troy)
TelevisionESPN2, ESPN+
2025–26 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Troy 12 6   .667 22 12   .647
Marshall 11 7   .611 19 13   .594
Coastal Carolina 11 7   .611 19 13   .594
Appalachian State 11 7   .611 19 13   .594
Texas State 11 7   .611 19 13   .594
South Alabama 11 7   .611 21 12   .636
Arkansas State 11 7   .611 20 12   .625
Southern Miss 9 9   .500 19 16   .543
James Madison 9 9   .500 18 15   .545
Georgia Southern 8 10   .444 21 16   .568
Old Dominion 7 11   .389 12 21   .364
Louisiana 7 11   .389 11 22   .333
Georgia State 7 11   .389 10 22   .313
Louisiana–Monroe 1 17   .056 4 28   .125
2026 Sun Belt tournament winner

The 2026 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for Sun Belt Conference during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All tournament games were played at Pensacola Bay Center between March 3–9, 2026.[1][2] The winner, Troy, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA tournament.

Seeds

All fourteen conference teams will qualify for the tournament. Teams will be seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records. The tournament will use a unique stepladder system giving the top two teams byes to the tournament semifinals and the No. 3 and No. 4 teams byes to the tournament quarterfinals. The top ten teams will receive at least one bye.[3]

Seed School Conference
record
Tiebreaker
1
Tiebreaker
2
Tiebreaker
3
Tiebreaker
4
Tiebreaker
5
Tiebreaker
6
1 Troy 12–6
2 Marshall 11–7 3–0 vs. USM/JMU
3 Coastal Carolina 11–7 2–1 vs. USM/JMU 2–0 vs. MRSH 1–0 vs. TXST
4 Appalachian State 11–7 2–1 vs. USM/JMU 0–2 vs. MRSH 1–0 vs. Troy
5 Texas State 11–7 1–2 vs. USM/JMU 1–0 vs. MRSH 0–1 vs. CCU 1–1 vs. Troy 1–0 vs. MRSH
6 South Alabama 11–7 2–1 vs. USM/JMU 0–1 vs. MRSH 1–1 vs. Troy 0–1 vs. MRSH 2–0 vs. ARST
7 Arkansas State 11–7 2–1 vs. USM/JMU 0–1 vs. MRSH 1–1 vs. Troy 0–1 vs. MRSH 0–2 vs. USA
8 Southern Miss 9–9 1–0 vs. JMU
9 James Madison 9–9 0–1 vs. USM
10 Georgia Southern 8–10
11 Old Dominion 7–11 3–0 vs. UL/GAST
12 Louisiana 7–11 1–1 vs. ODU/GAST 1–0 vs. GAST
13 Georgia State 7–11 0–3 vs. ODU/UL 0–1 vs. UL
14 Louisiana–Monroe 1–17

Schedule

Game Time Matchup Score Attendance Television
First round – Tuesday, March 3
1 5:00 p.m. No. 12 Louisiana vs. No. 13 Georgia State 84–75 629 ESPN+
2 7:30 p.m. No. 11 Old Dominion vs. No. 14 Louisiana–Monroe 87–80 719
Second round – Wednesday, March 4
3 5:00 p.m. No. 9 James Madison vs. No. 12 Louisiana 87–72 824 ESPN+
4 7:30 p.m. No. 10 Georgia Southern vs. No. 11 Old Dominion 88–84 931
Third round – Thursday, March 5
5 5:00 p.m. No. 8 Southern Miss vs. No. 9 James Madison 86–80 1,081 ESPN+
6 7:30 p.m. No. 7 Arkansas State vs. No. 10 Georgia Southern 77–80 1,374
Fourth round – Friday, March 6
7 5:00 p.m. No. 5 Texas State vs. No. 8 Southern Miss 77–81 1,248 ESPN+
8 7:30 p.m. No. 6 South Alabama vs. No. 10 Georgia Southern 85–94 1,867
Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 7
9 5:30 p.m. No. 4 Appalachian State vs. No. 8 Southern Miss 73–86 1,534 ESPN+
10 8:00 p.m. No. 3 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 10 Georgia Southern 72–96 1,685
Semifinals – Sunday, March 8
11 5:00 p.m. No. 1 Troy vs. No. 8 Southern Miss 78–70 1,850 ESPN+
12 8:00 p.m. No. 2 Marshall vs. No. 10 Georgia Southern 78–82 2,103
Final – Monday, March 9
13 6:00 p.m. No. 1 Troy vs. No. 10 Georgia Southern 77–61 2,555 ESPN2
Game times in CT; ranking denotes tournament seed

Bracket

First round
Tuesday, March 3
ESPN+
Second round
Wednesday, March 4
ESPN+
Third round
Thursday, March 5
ESPN+
Fourth round
Friday, March 6
ESPN+
Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 7
ESPN+
Semifinals
Sunday, March 8
ESPN+
Final
Monday, March 9
ESPN2
1Troy78
4Appalachian State738Southern Miss70
5Texas State778Southern Miss86
8Southern Miss868Southern Miss81
9James Madison879James Madison801Troy77
12Louisiana8412Louisiana7210Georgia Southern61
13Georgia State75
2Marshall78
3Coastal Carolina7210Georgia Southern82
6South Alabama8510Georgia Southern96
7Arkansas State7710Georgia Southern94
10Georgia Southern8810Georgia Southern80
11Old Dominion8711Old Dominion84
14Louisiana–Monroe80

Awards and honors

Tournament MVP: Thomas Dowd, Troy

SBC All-Tournament Team
  • Thomas Dowd, Troy
  • Jerrell Bellamy, Troy
  • Alden Applewhite, Georgia Southern
  • Tyren Moore, Georgia Southern
  • Spudd Webb, Georgia Southern
  • Tylik Weeks, Southern Miss

See also

References

  1. ^ "2026 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Championship". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  2. ^ "Sun Belt Conference - Get the details". Visit Pensacola. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  3. ^ "Sun Belt Announces Changes to Basketball Championships Brackets". sunbeltsports.org. October 31, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2025.