Sun Belt Basketball Preview Part 2 - From the Bird's Nest

The Sun Belt does not split into divisions for basketball, but we did for the purpose of this preview. Yesterday, we looked at teams in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Today we'll look at Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas, in no particular order.

But the question remains...who will challenge UTA? The Mavericks have won nine straight and are 10-3 on the year. They've won at Texas and then-#12 St. Mary's.

Is everyone else playing for second? Let's take a look (RPI rankings are as of Thursday morning)

GEORGIA SOUTHERN (7-6) RPI 151 BEST WIN: At Florida Gulf Coast. WORST LOSS: at Mercer. Streak W1

Georgia Southern was picked in the top four in the league by the coaches but have gone just 7-6 to start the season, with two of those wins against non-D1 schools. So what's the deal? We'll, they've played ten of those 13 games away from home. And, we all know it's not easy to win away from home in college basketball. Georgia Southern returns every player of note from a year ago. They average three in double figures and all are familiar names: Ike Smith leads the Sun Belt with a 19.8 average, while last year's Freshman of the Year Tookie Brown scores 15.2. Mike Hughes, who missed three games earlier in the season, averages 10.2. The strengths of this team remain the same: very strong guard play. They shoot the three - a lot and they make nine per game. They are very athletic at the guard spot...but they still don't rebound all that well. Oh...and they only have two seniors on this club. Both are walk-ons.

GEORGIA STATE (7-5) RPI 79 BEST WIN: at Middle Tennessee WORST LOSS: UMASS. Streak L1

Georgia State stumbled a bit a year ago, but Ron Hunter's club is picked to finish high in the Sun Belt and so far they've lived up to that prediction. Their five losses are to Auburn, Purdue, Mississippi State and Old Dominion, all on the road. Wednesday's loss to Massachusetts at home was disappointing, although the Minutemen have a good club as well. Jeremy Hollowell is once again the biggest threat for the Panthers. The Indiana transfer has taken nearly twice as many shots as anyone else on the club and is the only double digit scorer at 14.2 points per game. Hunter uses his bench liberally, playing as many as a dozen players on any given night. Isaiah Williams and Justin Seymour can really shoot. But watch out for freshman D'Marcus Simonds. He's mostly come off the bench but is the second leading scorer on the club. Willie Clayton has made them a better rebounding team than they've been the last few years.

SOUTH ALABAMA (7-6) RPI 220 BEST WIN: at UNLV WORST LOSS: at Stetson Streak L1

There are a lot of familiar names on this roster. Yet, this team has struggled. They've lost three games at home and have had one of the more favorable schedules in the league with eight home games. If you wonder why the team has struggled, look no farther than the numbers. This team has struggled to shoot the basketball. Ken Williams, one of the league's best players and Shaq Calhoun, who was a marksman a year ago, are combining to shoot just 23% from beyond the arc and South Alabama simply can't win if those two guys shoot like that. Veteran Georgi Boyanov leads the team in scoring as a part time starter . He and Don MuepoKelly combine for over 12 boards per game. South Alabama's future is rather simple. If Williams, Calhoun and Nick Stover can score from outside, this team has a chance. But if they continue to shoot under 30 percent from three point range, they're going to struggle to win in this conference.

TROY (8-6) RPI 200 BEST WIN: Eastern Illinois WORST LOSS: South Florida. Streak W2

Some of the names are familiar: Wesley Person and Jordan Varnado are both very athletic and can shoot the basketball. Jeremy Hollimon had a solid first season a year ago. A pair of newcomers are important pieces to this puzzle. JUCO transfer Kevin Baker is now at the point and has proven himself to be (another) capable shooter. And, DeVon Walker is a senior transfer from Florida and has fortified the Trojans' rebounding ability. The Trojans are still one of those "any given night" teams. They nearly upset USC on the road, but have had some puzzling losses as well. They're going to shoot 25 to 30 times beyond the arc and will make their share. How big that share is will have plenty to do with how successful they'll be in the Sun Belt.

APPALACHIAN STATE (5-6) RPI 238 BEST WIN: At Hartford WORST LOSS: Western Carolina STREAK W2

Ronshad Shabazz was expected to be the man, and he hasn't disappointed. The sophomore is the only Mountaineer averaging in double figures at 15.8. He's shot it well both inside and outside. Jim Fox is building from the ground up and he's got some kids with some promise. Freshman Patrick Good is an excellent outside shooter, while 6-9 frosh Isaac Johnson can play inside, although he's got to add some bulk. Another freshman, Kelvin Robinson and a sophomore, Tyrell Johnson have added valuable minutes as well. Every player mentioned here is either a freshman or a sophomore. There's only one senior on the roster. It's a young team that will get better as the season transpires. The Mountaineers are getting there and may surprise some teams especially when they play in Boone. But they're at least a year away.

COASTAL CAROLINA (5-8) RPI 287 BEST WIN: NC Central WORST LOSS: Wofford Streak:L2

Elijah Wilson was named pre-season All-Sun Belt and with good reason. The senior is already in the top ten in CCU history in scoring and he's not scared to shoot it. He's tried 111 from beyond the arc and shoots 36% from there. South Carolina transfer Jaylen Shaw and JUCO transfer Demario Beck also score in double figures and Beck leads them in rebounding. Like so many in the league, CCU will shoot a lot from the perimeter. But, outside of Beck, there's not much of an inside game and veteran coach Cliff Elllis has started a bunch of different lineups. This team doesn't force many turnovers and they're last in the league in points allowed and FG percentage. CCU will win some games because of Wilson, and Ellis has won over 700 games. But don't expect this team to contend.

SATURDAY'S GAMES: Georgia State at Georgia Southern, ULM at Little Rock, Louisiana at Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina at UTA, Appalachian State at Texas State.

MONDAY'S GAMES: Louisiana at Little Rock, ULM at Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina at Texas State, Appalachian State at UTA, Troy at South Alabama