Sun Belt Tournament: Doug’s Picks

1st Round
#8 FL Atlantic over #9 S. Alabama (USA 52, FAU 51)
#4 Western KY over #13 New Orleans (WKU 83, UNO 58)
#5 Arkansas St. over #12 Arkansas-Little Rock (ASU 89, ARLR 82)
#6 Denver over #11 FL Intl. (Denver 71, FIU 64)
#7 LA-Lafayette over #10 LA-Monroe (ULAM 76, ULAL 75)

Quarterfinals
FL Atlantic over #1 Troy (Troy 67, USA 55)
WKU over Ark. St. (WKU 65, ASU 64)
#2 N. Texas over LA-Lafayette
#3 Mid. Tenn. St. over Denver

Semifinals
WKU over FL Atl. (Troy 54, WKU 48)
UNT over MTSU (UNT 63, Denver 56)

Final
WKU over UNT

Update 3/9/10: North Texas defeated Troy 66-63 to win the Sun Belt Championship and earn their ticket to the Big Dance.

All Star game puts Frenchmen against Imports

Eurobasket reports,

The Palais Omnisport Paris-Bercy welcomed the French League All-Star Game yesterday. The French Players Team narrowly defeated the Imports Team 89:88. The Frenchmen led throughout the game. They enjoyed a 26:12 lead at the first intermission. The Imports narrowed the deficit at 6 points at halftime. The margin grew thinner in the third quarter. The Imports entered the fourth frame down by just 2 points. It all came down to the final seconds. The Frenchmen were just more accurate late in regulation snatching a narrow one-point win at the end.

The French team was lead by game MVP Steed Tchicamboud with 18 points, Antoine Diot with 14, and former Cleveland St. Viking Pape Badiane with 12. The Imports were lead by Angel Vassalo with 22 and Dewarick Spencer (Arkansas St.) and Sean Marshall (Boston College) with 15 each.