2009–10 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season

The 2009–10 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season marked the 33rd season of Sun Belt Conference men's basketball during the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.

2009–10 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 9, 2009 through March 6, 2010
Number of teams	13
TV partner(s)	ESPN, CBS Sports
Regular Season
Tournament

2009–10 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Troy	13	–	5		.722			20	–	13		.606
Middle Tennessee	13	–	5		.722			19	–	14		.576
Western Kentucky	12	–	6		.667			21	–	13		.618
Florida Atlantic	10	–	8		.556			14	–	16		.467
South Alabama	8	–	10		.444			17	–	15		.531
FIU	4	–	14		.222			7	–	25		.219
West
North Texas†	13	–	5		.722			24	–	9		.727
Arkansas State	11	–	7		.611			17	–	14		.548
Denver	10	–	8		.556			19	–	13		.594
Louisiana–Lafayette	10	–	8		.556			13	–	17		.433
Louisiana–Monroe	6	–	12		.333			12	–	19		.387
Arkansas–Little Rock	4	–	14		.222			8	–	22		.267
New Orleans	3	–	15		.167			8	–	22		.267
† 2010 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Blue Ribbon magazine predicted Western Kentucky University to win the East Division. The Hilltoppers are returning from a season in which they came within one second of upsetting Gonzaga and advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In addition, Hilltopper star A.J. Slaughter was named the Preseason Player of the Year.^[1]

Sun Belt Preseason Poll

East Division

Rank	Team
1	Western Kentucky
2	Troy
3	Middle Tennessee State
4	South Alabama
5	Florida Atlantic
6	Florida International

West Division

Rank	Team
1	North Texas
2	UALR
3	Louisiana-Lafayette
4	Denver
5	Arkansas State
6	ULM
7	New Orleans

Preseason All-SBC Team

• G -- Brandon Hazzard (Troy, Sr.)
• G -- A. J. Slaughter (WKU, Sr.)
• F -- Nate Rohnert (Denver, Sr.)
• F -- Eric Tramiel (North Texas, Sr.)
• F -- Desmond Yates (Middle Tennessee, Sr.)

Regular season

Non-conference

In terms of upsets over the six major conferences, Western Kentucky beat Vanderbilt University 76-69 on December 11. A.J. Slaughter scored 27 points to lead the Hilltoppers to their first win over Vanderbilt since 1946. Western Kentucky led for the final 16:33 of the game, though Vanderbilt cut the lead to one twice. This was Vanderbilt's second consecutive loss.^[2]

Conference season

Postseason

SBC Tournament

Main article: 2010 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament

	First round Saturday, March 6					Second round Sunday, March 7					Semifinals Monday, March 8					Championship game Tuesday, March 9
						1	Troy	67
						9	South Alabama	55
	8	FAU	51
	9	South Alabama	52
											1	Troy	54
											4	Western Kentucky	48
	4	Western Kentucky	83
	13	New Orleans	58
						4	Western Kentucky	65
						5	Arkansas State	64
	5	Arkansas State	89*
	12	Ark-Little Rock	82
																1	Troy	63
																2	North Texas	66
						3	Middle Tennessee	58
						6	Denver	73
	6	Denver	71
	11	FIU	64
											6	Denver	56
											2	North Texas	63
						2	North Texas	69
						10	UL Monroe	66
	7	UL Lafayette	75
	10	UL Monroe	76

Asterisk denotes game ended in overtime.

References

1. "Blue Ribbon Tabs Slaughter-Led Toppers as Team to Beat in 2009-10". Western Kentucky University. September 21, 2009. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
2. Lockridge, Jeff (December 12, 2009). "Western Kentucky beats Vanderbilt for first time since 1946". The Tennessean. Retrieved December 16, 2009. ^{[dead link]}