College Basketball Preview - Sun Belt Conference

[NewsCopy]

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - OUTLOOK: The Sun Belt Conference sent two teams to the postseason last year, as North Texas represented the league in the NCAA Tournament and South Alabama earned a bid from the NIT. Both North Texas and South Alabama are expected to be highly competitive again, but Western Kentucky and UL-Monroe are considered the favorites to win their respective divisions. New Orleans welcomes back the league's top scorer in Bo McCalebb and it should have a say in what happens this year. Arkansas State and Florida Atlantic return some of the conference's premier players and that is not surprising, considering the SBC welcomes back 15 of its top 20 scorers from a year ago. Middle Tennessee also returns a solid core of starters and it could be primed to make a run at the league title. Arkansas-Little Rock and Florida International have some holes to fill and they are probably a year away from making an impact. Troy, UL-Lafayette and Denver have a lot of rebuilding to do and none of these programs are expected to be in the mix in terms of league supremacy. CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Western Kentucky PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: EAST DIVISION: 1. Western Kentucky, 2. South Alabama, 3. Florida Atlantic, 4. Middle Tennessee, 5. Florida International, 6. Troy WEST DIVISION: 1. UL-Monroe, 2. New Orleans, 3. Arkansas State, 4. North Texas, 5. Arkansas-Little Rock, 6. UL-Lafayette, 7. Denver UL: The Ragin' Cajuns won back-to-back league titles in 2004 and 2005, but since then, the team hasn't been all that competitive. Last season, ULL stumbled to a sixth place finish (7-11) in the West Division, while going just 9-21 overall. The Ragin'' Cajuns return three starters from a year ago, but the rest of the roster is all young and inexperienced. David Dees will once again shoulder much of the load for ULL, as the 6-4 guard ranked among the top scorers in the league with an average of 17.4 ppg last season. Elijah Millsap should once again provide a nice complement to Dees after averaging 12.4 ppg and 7.3 rpg to earn the SBC Freshman of the Year award in 2006-07. Maurice Barksdale missed last year with a wrist injury, but his return will give the Ragin' Cajuns another playmaker. Courtney Wallace (6-8, 250) and Abray Milson (6-9, 245) are big bodies and although they are unproven, they will probably see significant playing time in the frontcourt, where ULL lacks any real presence. The rest of the story By Ralph Lauro Associate College Basketball Editor The Sports Network

[Cajunsmike]

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That preview is what I expect from a source not close to the program. What he did not mention is the potential contribution from guys we had sitting out last year. Of course it has been 1 1/2 years since those guys played in real games so it is easy to forget them. They could turn things around or they could be bust. When you don't know, you discount them.

[Big Buds]

This is true; man I love college basketball!

[rhineaux]

_ That preview is what I expect from a source not close to the program. What he did not mention is the potential contribution from guys we had sitting out last year. Of course it has been 1 1/2 years since those guys played in real games so it is easy to forget them. They could turn things around or they could be bust. When you don't know, you discount them. _

Agreed. you think that analysts were discounting Michigan in the early 90s right before the freshman season of the Fab Five? THEY were gonna be having 5 new starters, but I'm sure someone actually spent the time to put out a decent analysis of them. I don't expect someone to really put all of there time into something like this for a conference like the SBC, but if they aren't going to do the full job, then don't do it at all.

(pardon my negativity on this afternoons posts, Its been a long day and I'm in a poor mood)

[AstroCajun]

_ Agreed. you think that analysts were discounting Michigan in the early 90s right before the freshman season of the Fab Five? THEY were gonna be having 5 new starters, but I'm sure someone actually spent the time to put out a decent analysis of them. I don't expect someone to really put all of there time into something like this for a conference like the SBC, but if they aren't going to do the full job, then don't do it at all.

(pardon my negativity on this afternoons posts, Its been a long day and I'm in a poor mood) _

The negativity is understood.

Personally, I'd rather the guys be a bit underrated. It should make them hungrier to prove themselves.

I hope the guys in Monroe relax being that the've got the West No.1 in the bag.