Three of the top four seeds in Sun Belt Tournament betting have advanced to the semifinals. No. 1 Middle Tennessee will face No. 4 Florida International in the first semifinal. The Blue Raiders won both meetings this season straight-up but the series was split 1-1 against the spread.
In the second semifinal, the No. 2 Arkansas State Red Wolves square off against No. 6 Western Kentucky, which is coming off a 3-point win over No. 3 South Alabama as a 2-point favorite on the closing line at the sportsbooks. The Red Wolves won both meetings this season both SU and ATS.
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Sun Belt Conference Tournament betting action got underway on Friday night with three first-round games to set the stage for Saturday’s quarterfinals.
No. 1 Middle Tennessee State will start things off against No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette. The Blue Raiders extended their current winning streak over UL-Lafayette to nine games with a pair of victories both straight-up and against the spread this season.
In the other half of that bracket, No. 4 Florida International will face No. 5 Arkansas-Little Rock. The Golden Panthers have been opened as 1-point favorites on the betting lines for the rubber match after these two split two regular season games both SU and ATS with the home team winning each time.
Game 3 on Saturday’s slate pits No. 2 Arkansas State against No. 10 Troy. The Red Wolves avenged a stunning 74-67 overtime loss as 7.5-point road favorites the first time they met this year with a 58-50 victory on February 23 as 12.5-point favorites at home. The Trojans are now 7-2 ATS in the last nine games between the two schools.
Saturday’s nightcap features a matchup between No. 3 South Alabama and No. 6 Western Kentucky. These two split their two meetings this season both SU and ATS with each team winning at home; the favorite is 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings between these schools in Sun Belt betting action.
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The quest for this year’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament title gets underway this Friday from Summit Arena & Convention Center Court in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
First-round action tips off at 6 p.m. with the No. 6 seed Western Kentucky Hilltoppers against the No. 11 seed Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. Western Kentucky evened its conference record to 10-10 straight-up with a 3-1 run both SU and against the spread in its last four games.
The second game on Friday pits the No. 8 seed Louisiana-Lafayette Rajin' Cajuns against the No. 9 seed North Texas Mean Green. Both teams had losing records overall and in conference play but the Rajin' Cajuns won the only meeting this season 105-74 as 1.5-point favorites.
The No. 7 seed Florida Atlantic Owls wrap up the day against the No. 10 seed Troy Trojans. The Owls already beat Troy twice this season; by seven points on the road as 4-point underdogs and by 21 points as 7-point home favorites later in the season.
The Sun Belt quarterfinals on Saturday start off with the No. 4 seed Florida International Golden Panthers taking on the No. 5 seed Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans. FIU finished the regular season 16-13 SU and 12-9-1 ATS, while the Trojans went 17-14 SU overall and 15-13 ATS. They split the season series with each team winning at home both SU and ATS.
Game 2 on Saturday features the No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders - they will face the winner of the UL-Lafayette/North Texas game. The Blue Raiders finished the regular season 27-4 SU (14-13 ATS) and boasted the best record in the Sun Belt by a full five games at 19-1 SU.
The No. 3 seed South Alabama Jaguars will play the winner of the Western Kentucky/UL-Monroe contest in the third game on Saturday’s slate. The Jaguars went 6-2 SU down the stretch but covered the spread in just three of their last 10 games.
Saturday’s action closes things out with the No. 2 seed Arkansas State Red Wolves playing the winner of Friday’s Florida Atlantic/Troy game. The Red Wolves had the best record in the Sun Belt’s West Division at 12-8 and they went 18-11 SU overall. They come into this matchup fresh off back-to-back SU losses to North Texas and Arkansas-Little Rock as road favorites.
Sun Belt Conference Tournament Odds - courtesy of 5Dimes:
Middle Tennessee -365
Arkansas State +575
South Alabama +1600
FIU +2500
Arkansas-Little Rock +2300
Western Kentucky +2000
Florida Atlantic +5500
UL-Lafayette +9000
North Texas +6000
Troy +15000
UL-Monroe +100000
Friday, March 8 – Opening Round
6:00 PM ET – No.6 Western Kentucky vs. No.11 UL-Monroe
6:30 PM ET – No.8 UL-Lafayette vs. No.9 North Texas
8:30 PM ET – No.7 Florida Atlantic vs. No.10 Troy
Saturday, March 9 - Quarterfinal Round
6:00 PM ET – No.4 FIU vs. No.5 Arkansas-Little Rock
6:30 PM ET – No.1 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 8/9
8:30 PM ET – No.3 Alabama vs. No. 6/11
9:00 PM ET – No.2 Arkansas State vs. No.7/10
Sunday, March 10 - Semifinal Round
6:30 PM ET – Quarterfinal Winners (Games 1 &2)
9:00 PM ET – Quarterfinal Winners (Games 3&4)
Monday, March 11 - Championship Game
6:00 PM ET – Semifinal Winners
