Sun Belt Conference Notebook
by Ryan Glenn
Middle Tennessee State is off to one of the best starts in the conference. The Blue Raiders are 6-3 and have an RPI of 41. Although 6-3 is not the best record in the league, it must be noted that two of the Blue Raiders’ losses came from an overtime loss to Indiana State and a close loss to Louisville on the road. A big part of their success is due to junior Kyle Young. Young is averaging 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. He is also sixth in the country with a 69.5 shooting percentage. The next three games for MTSU are against Austin Peay, Tennessee State and Memphis, all of which are in-state opponents.
Arkansas-Little Rock is off to a 6-4 start and also has looked good early on. The Trojans’ early losses include Illinois, Southern Illinois and a five-point loss to Michigan State. Rash Jones-Jennings has led the way for the Trojans in scoring and rebounds. Jones-Jennings has been the leading rebounder in all but one game this season. They will be looking for him to step up when they play in a tournament hosted by Utah State this week.
Western Kentucky, as expected, has played very competitively early on. Out of the Hilltoppers’ four losses, three of them easily could have been wins. In just their third game, they were edged out by Georgia 69-65. In mid-December, they were on the losing end of a close one once again against Bradley 78-76. Just two games later, they lost to a very good team in Arizona in overtime. This team is going to be looking to take over the Sun Belt in the next few weeks.
Dickey Nutt has to be worried about his Arkansas State team. Although losses are common for mid-majors, losing four straight games right before Sun Belt play begins is never good. The Indians are also going to have to learn how to win on the road. They are 0-4 on the road and are going to be playing at Oklahoma State on December 31. Kitus Witherspoon is going to need to improve from his eight points a game for them not to be in the bottom of the Sun Belt standings this season.
