A Look at Sun Belt Games Scheduled for Thursday

With just two weeks left in the regular season, every game in the Sun Belt Conference is important because, well, nothing is decided.

There are a full slate of games scheduled for Thursday, with scheduled being the operative term. Is it possible the weather could be the big winner? Here’s a look at the slate:

GEORGIA SOUTHERN (19-6, 12-4) AT APPALACHIAN STATE (9-16, 6-10) The Eagles won the first meeting in Statesboro 83-46 on January 29^th.

FORECAST: Winter Storm Warning in effect from 7pm tonight until 9am tomorrow with 4-7” of snow possible.

Well, anything can happen in Boone. Except maybe a Mountaineers’ win against a team they obviously don’t match up well with. The weather window means Georgia Southern should be able to get into Boone since the bad stuff won’t be until tonight. But this is going to be a “wet” snow and trying to get down the mountain on Friday on the way to Lafayette won’t be an easy task. It’s always good to never overlook your opponent and Georgia Southern needs to remember that. But that should be the only thing separating them from a win in this one against a team that is ineligible for the league tournament.

UL MONROE (18-9, 12-4) AT SOUTH ALABAMA (9-19, 7-10) ULM won the first meeting in Monroe 67-61 on January 31.

FORECAST: Pretty nasty in Monroe this morning with a wintry mix. Rain awaits them in Mobile but shouldn’t be a travel issue as long as they hit the road safely.

South Alabama is a very tough team to figure out. They had been playing well enough to be in the hunt for a bye in the tournament…until last week when whey got blown out at Georgia State and gave up a lead at Georgia Southern. Now the Jaguars play the third league leader in as many games. The Warhawks are down to seven contributing players after the loss of Marvin Williams and that could make them vulnerable, especially on Saturdays. ULM had a tough time against the Jaguars in Monroe. It’ll be interesting to see which one of Matthew Graves’ teams shows up.

GEORGIA STATE (19-8, 12-4) at UALR (7-10, 12-15)—Georgia State won in Atlanta, 82-69 back on January 3^rd.

FORECAST—Little Rock could get 1-3 inches of snow today. But the forecast looks fine for tomorrow and the Panthers should be able to get in and out.

We were ready to bury Steve Shields’ team a week ago, but then the Trojans got back to back wins, at home against Arkansas State and a big road win at Troy. But the last three games are pretty daunting and UALR shouldn’t make a no refund reservation to the conference tournament just yet. They play their final home game tomorrow night and then have road games in Arlington and Lafayette. The Trojans have a bit of a cushion to make the tournament, but it sure would help if they’d win one of these last three. With ULM and Georgia Southern on the slate next week, the Panthers can ill afford a stumble here.

UT ARLINGTON (15-11, 9-7) AT ARKANSAS STATE (10-15, 5-11) UTA embarrassed the Red Wolves, 77-50 at the College Park Center back on January 20^th.

FORECAST—Snowing in the Metroplex this morning but amazingly, travel shouldn’t be that much of a factor to Jonesboro, where it can get pretty dicey at times when a storm system comes in. No precipitation is forecast.

Arkansas State really looked dead in the water, but then rose up and stunned ULM on Saturday and If the tournament started today, the Red Wolves would be in it. This is a huge game for both teams for different reasons. John Brady’s club is fighting for survival and the Mavericks, despite the loss to Louisiana on Saturday, is still very much alive for a first round bye. Really, neither team can afford to lose this game. It’ll be interesting to see how that beatdown in Arlington affects the Red Wolves. My guess is they’d better get off to a good start.

TROY (10-16, 5-12) AT TEXAS STATE (11-14, 5-11)—The teams haven’t played since December 30, when the Bobcats got a 57-46 road win at Troy.

FORECAST: In comparison to the rest of the league, San Marcos is downright balmy.

As of today, neither of these teams would qualify for the tournament, which could make this game a de facto elimination game. Texas State is staggering, having lost nine of their last ten. Troy is the most schizophrenic team in the league. They looked to be in good shape after winning at Georgia Southern but then came home and cratered against UALR. Troy has won five conference games and that includes sweeps against UT Arlington and Georgia Southern. They need for perimeter shots to fall Thursday against the Bobcats.

LOOKING AHEAD TO SATURDAY: Georgia Southern at Louisiana, ULM at Appalachian State, Georgia State at Troy, UALR at UT Arlington, Arkansas State at Texas State (South Alabama bye)