Sun Belt basketball: Power Rankings heading into 2017-18

NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 12: The Troy Trojans celebrate after the championship game of the Sun Belt Basketball Tournament against the Texas State Bobcats at UNO Lakefront Arena on March 12, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Troy Trojans won 59-53. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 22: Nick Coppola /

12. Louisiana Monroe War Hawks

2016-17 season result: 9-24 (2-16) – No postseason

Monroe finished at the bottom of the conference standings with a bunch of seniors on the team. The good news is that Travis Munnings, a potential All-Conference performer, will be the leader of this team. The bad news is that he has next to no help around him. They won just two games last year in league play and that sounds about right for this year.

11. Arkansas Little Rock Trojans

2016-17 season result: 15-17 (6-12) – No postseason

No team in the Sun Belt lost more from graduation last year than the Trojans. The only team who does not return a double-digit scorer, fans of the program will have to have as low of expectations as possible.

One aspect of the Sun Belt is the constant fluctuation of all the teams in the standings. Teams at the top rarely stay there for long and vice versa. Little Rock hopes that’s the case for them because a steep drop will happen this time around.

10. Appalachian State Mountaineers

2016-17 result: 9-21 (4-14) – No postseason

The Mountaineers have one of the most exciting players in the conference with junior Ronshad Shabazz. The problem for this team is that, similar to Louisiana Monroe, it’s one star player with no one else to help out. Unless that changes, its another bottom-tier finish for App State.