Sun Belt Tournament Shines Bright Today – March 11

Two more teams will punch their tickets to the Big Dance tonight when the Sun Belt and Southern Conferences play their conference tournament championship games. East Tennessee State plays Samford for the Southern Conference title while Arkansas State and James Madison battle for the Sun Belt crown.

The Sun Belt regular season champion, Appalachian State, was upset yesterday by the Red Wolves 67-65. Freddy Hicks hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer to give Arkansas State the victory. Hicks finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Teammate Caleb Fields led the winners with 23 points. Both players will need to be on point tonight as Arkansas State faces James Madison, which is 30-3 on the season.

Sun Belt Conference Tournament Preview

James Madison opened the 2023-24 college basketball season with one of the big upsets of the year. JMU beat then No. 4 Michigan State 79-76 in overtime. That win kicked off a run of 14 straight wins to start the season. The Dukes found themselves ranked in the AP Top 25 until their first loss at Southern Miss on Jan. 6.

JMU lost just two more games this season, both in the Sun Belt and both to Appalachian State. Since their last loss to the Mountaineers on Jan. 27, the Dukes have won 12 games in a row. JMU beat Arkansas State on the road on Feb. 7, 77-73, in the only meeting between the two teams this season. Noah Friedel, who averages 12.2 points per game, had 19 points and 10 rebounds in that game.

Arkansas State (18-15, 11-7) has won eight of its last nine games. Its only loss in that run was also to Appalachian State in Sun Belt play. The Red Wolves avenged that 23-point loss with yesterday’s upset in the Sun Belt Conference semifinals. Hicks and Fields are two of five Arkansas State players that average in double figures.

The winner of tonight’s game earns the Sun Belt Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Sun Belt will have a new champion. Louisiana, which was also beaten by Arkansas State, won the conference tournament last year. 

Big Day on the Leaderboard

What if there was a way you could make 60 solid betting picks in a day, win 75 percent of them, and add $3600 to your bankroll? Well, there is. It’s called Sports Hub!

Yesterday’s top five handicappers here at Sports Hub did exactly that – they combined to make 60 picks, go 45-15 and earn $3683. Our top handicapper was our friends at Knup Sports who went 15-4 on 19 picks and added $1563 to the bankroll.

Let’s recap how our top cappers did yesterday.

• Knup crushed it: It’s not everyday you make 19 picks and hit 15 of them. Our guys at Knup did that on a combination of NBA and NHL picks with a few international soccer picks mixed in there. In the end, Knup ended up with $1563 in profits. If you liked what they did yesterday, there’s more today. Knup Sports has eight picks in the system for action today. One of them could be on the Sun Belt title game.

• Our cappers are diverse: So, Sports Hub handicappers offer the best sports picks in the industry. But, they are also well-rounded. Mike Kelly went 7-1 yesterday and five of his winning picks were on last night’s Oscar’s. Yep, that’s right. A Sports Hub handicapper went 5-0 on movie picks! Mike won a total of $620 yesterday, giving him $925 over the last seven days.
• Big Dickelman: Sports Hub’s Randall Dickelman has been crushing the books this week. Yesterday, he hit 8 of 10 picks and earned $570 in profits. That brings his 7-day totals to 24-9 and $1281. That ranks No. 2 on the 7-day leaderboard. He’s also No. 2 on our 7-day hockey leaderboard with $985 in hockey profits.
• Our soccer expert: Geovanny Araya was back at it again. He went 3-1 yesterday and added another $500 to his bankroll. 
• The Computer comes through again: One day after going 20-12, our Computer Picks put up another stellar day. The Computer went 12-7 and added $430 to the bankroll. That’s a two-day total of $1110 for our AI-generated picks. Giddy up!

Sun Belt, SOCON Finals Head Up Today’s Schedule

Computer picks might have another stellar week in him with all of the college basketball conference championships on the schedule. The Sun Belt and Southern Conferences will both play their title games tonight. By the time the week is over, all 32 automatic bids will be determined.

Basketball isn’t the only thing on the schedule either. There is plenty to bet on tonight. If you’re betting the Sun Belt or other college basketball, you might want to check out SWJ Sports in our members’ area. SWJ Sports has hit 60 percent of all his NCAAB picks for $1005 in winnings over the last five days.

Here’s what’s available to wager on tonight.

1. Sun Belt final: The Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game is tonight pitting Arkansas State against James Madison. The winner earns a bid to the NCAA tournament. Game time is 7:00 p.m. and you can watch it on ESPN.
2. SOCON championship: The Southern Conference tournament is tonight. East Tennessee State (19-15, 8-10) takes on Samford (28-5, 15-3). That game is on ESPN2 also starting at 7 p.m. ET.
3. More college basketball: There is more action in conference tournaments tonight. The biggest games are in the West Coast Confernece where No. 23 Saint Mary’s plays Santa Clara and No. 19 Gonzaga takes on San Francisco.

4. NBA: There are six NBA games on the schedule tonight. NBATV will carry a doubleheader. The first matchup pits Golden State at San Antonio. The two teams just met in San Francisco on Saturday night. The Spurs won 126-113. The late game has Boston at Portland starting at 10:30 p.m. ET.
5. On the ice: There are four games on the NHL schedule tonight. St. Louis, losers of three straight, are at Boston. The Bruins are 5-1-4 in their last ten games and are now second in the Atlantic Division behind Florida.
6. Monday soccer: It’s like Monday Night Football in the U.S. Chelsea plays Newcastle United in a Premier League match today. Almeria plays Sevilla in La Liga and Lazio faces Udinese in Italy’s Serie A. 
7. Spring training: Yes, there is more MLB action today. There are 14 games on the schedule today as teams continue to prepare for Opening Day. The latest World Series odds still have the Dodgers as the favorite.
8. BNP Paribas Open: No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic will take the court today in Round 3 of the BNP Paribas Open. He will face Luca Nardi. No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 3 Coco Gauff both play third round matches today.

NFL News Among Things Getting Heated

Russell Wilson may have found a new home and a Cincinnati Bengals receiver wants a trade. While those heat up in the NFL, tempers are flaring everywhere else. SEC women’s basketball? How about an ejection party. International soccer? Head butts for everyone! WTF is going on?

Check out today’s trending news.

• Wilson to the Steelers: Former Broncos QB Russell Wilson will sign a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’ll sign for the league veteran minimum – $1.2 million. Denver still owes him $37.8 million for the 2024 season. 
• Bengals WR wants trade: Tee Higgins has told Cincinnati he wants to be traded. The Bengals put the franchise tag on Higgins recently which guarantees him $21.8 million for the upcoming season unless the two sides come to a new agreement. Higgins said there has been no conversation about a new contract and that is why he is requesting the trade.

• Six players ejected in SEC title game: In the women’s SEC tournament championship game, six players from LSU and South Carolina were ejected after a late scuffle. Tempers flared when South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso shoved LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson to the floor with 2:08 left to play. Cardoso was one of four Gamecocks ejected. South Carolina went on to win the game 79-72. 
• Butting heads: Lecce of Italy’s Serie A has fired its manager Roberto D’Aversa. In the aftermath of Lecce’s 1-0 loss to Hellas Verona, D’Aversa head-butted Thomas Henry. D’Aversa and Henry were both issued red cards.

That will do it for today. Enjoy today’s conference tournament games. Check the picks database for winning CBB picks. There are about two dozen in the system already. Come back tomorrow for more great content and information on which cappers to follow.