UALR can still be the 2 or 3 seed at Sun Belt Tournament

BURN THE HORSE

As of Feb. 23

With one game date remaining in the regular season, there still isn't clarity in the standings of the top four teams in the Sun Belt Conference West Division standings.

This is an attempt to break it down from a UALR standpoint.

If UALR beats Arkansas State on Saturday, UALR is the outright West Division champion and the No. 2 seed. Assuming ULL beats ULM, then it comes down to Denver vs. North Texas. If Denver wins, Denver is the 3, ULL the 4 and NT the 5. If North Texas wins, ULL is the 3, NT the 4 and Denver the 5.

If UALR loses to Arkansas State on Saturday the Trojans will likely be co-West Division champions with Louisiana-Lafayette and/or Denver. If Denver beats North Texas then UALR is the 2, Denver the 3, ULL the 4 and North Texas the 5. If North Texas beats Denver, ULL is the 2, UALR the 3, NT the 4 and Denver the 5.

If UALR beats ASU and Denver beats North Texas, the bracket opposite UALR at the Sun Belt Tournament would include: Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Lafayette, North Texas and Arkansas State. And if Middle Tennessee wins at WKU on Sunday, WKU would also go into the opposite bracket. That would make all the teams UALR lost to in the regular season in the opposite bracket.

What’s the likelihood of that happening? It’s unlikely at best. But the best-case scenario for UALR would be to win vs. ASU and have Denver beat NT on Sunday.