Men’s basketball tiebreakers

By Drew Champlin

Published: February 27, 2009

On the men’s side, this was transmitted to me via media relations ace Taylor Bryan, who has spent the better part of the day talking with people at the Sun Belt office about seeding for the Sun Belt Men’s Tournament.

The teams you need to be aware of: EAST - Western Kentucky (14-3, at MTSU), Troy (13-4, home vs. South Alabama) WEST - UALR (14-3, home vs. ULL)

If there is a three-way tie, Troy can’t finish first. WKU has a 3-1 record vs. Troy and UALR and Troy is 2-1, with UALR 0-3. Gives the edge to WKU.

The division winners will be seeded 1 and 2. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

If WKU loses, Troy wins and UALR wins, then UALR is the league champ outright and Troy is tied with WKU at 14-4 at the top of the East. At that point, with a 1-1 record against each other, it goes down the line all the way to Denver, where Troy is 1-0 against and WKU is 0-1. Troy would win that tiebreaker and be the No. 2 seed in the tournament.

At least that’s how we understand it. Basically, Troy’s going to be the 2 or 3 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament. I’d rate the odds best at the 3 seed.

If Troy loses, the Trojans are automatically the 3 seed.

There could be a logjam with 4-5-6-7. If Denver beats North Texas, WKU beats MTSU and Troy beats South Alabama, then Denver, MTSU, South Alabama and North Texas are tied at 10-8. Not sure how it would be sorted out there, but all four will host first-round games as will UL-Lafayette.

But, Saturday you’ve got some Troy players going up for individual awards. I think it’s a lock that Don Maestri is Coach of the Year. Brandon Hazzard’s performances in league play could have him at Player of the Year, where he’s averaging almost 20 ppg for a good team. Richard Delk should have the upper hand for Newcomer of the Year. Hazzard, Delk and Michael Vogler are playing for spots on the first, second and third team.

Vogler’s scoring stats aren’t as good as some he’s battling for, but he leads the league in assists and might, just might, be the top point guard in the league depending on who you’re asking.