BTH Sun Belt Update: Top 3 locked in; four in contention for final bye


Arkansas State clinched the West Division championship and No. 2 seed by beating Troy on Saturday. The top three seeds in next month's tournament are set. Middle Tennessee is the No. 1 seed, ASU the No. 2 and South Alabama the No. 3. Florida International can clinch the No. 4 spot with a victory at Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday or at Florida Atlantic on Saturday.

That leaves four teams for the final first-round bye. UALR and Western Kentucky are currently tied at 9-9 with UALR holding the tiebreaker. Florida Atlantic and Louisiana-Lafayette are still in it as well.

Thursday's games:
  • Arkansas State at North Texas (7 p.m.)  Meaningless game for Arkansas State. North Texas, currently 10th, could still move up to the 8/9 game.
  • South Alabama at Western Kentucky (7 p.m.) Meaningless game for South Alabama. Western Kentucky gets the bye if it sweeps USA and Middle Tennessee at home this week and UALR slips up.
  • Louisiana-Lafayette at UALR (7:30 p.m.) UALR can eliminate ULL from the bye with a win. It would also bolster the Trojans' chances of getting it.
  • Florida International at Louisiana-Monroe (7:30 p.m.) FIU can clinch the 4 spot with a win. A loss keeps UALR alive for the 4.
  • Middle Tennessee at Troy (7:30 p.m.) Middle Tennessee is in prime position for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if it slips up in the Sun Belt Tournament. But a loss here would change that.