Busting Brackets
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Sun Belt Basketball: Georgia State leads the favorites for 2019 Tournament

By TJ Miller

JACKSONVILLE, FL - MARCH 19: The Georgia State Panthers celebrate after the Panthers win 57-56 against the Baylor Bears in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on March 19, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - MARCH 19: The Georgia State Panthers celebrate after the Panthers win 57-56 against the Baylor Bears in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on March 19, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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KNOXVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 9: Yves Pons #35 of the Tennessee Volunteers drives past JaKeenan Gant #23 of the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns during the first half of the game between the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on November 9, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 9: Yves Pons #35 of the Tennessee Volunteers drives past JaKeenan Gant #23 of the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns during the first half of the game between the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on November 9, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /

Key Players

D’Marcus Simonds – Georgia State

The Sun Belt Player of the Year last season, Simonds has followed it up by having another phenomenal season. The junior is one of those players capable of almost single-handedly taking over games. This was certainly the case when he scored 16 points in the last seven minutes of game time to lead the Panthers in a huge comeback win at Alabama. Simonds may stand at an average 6-foot-3 height, but has tremendous quickness and strength in going to the rim. Put it all together and you get one of the more dangerous scorers in all of college basketball and someone more than capable of leading Georgia State to back-to-back conference tournament titles.

Nijal Pearson – Texas State

Pearson has struggled shooting the ball his last couple of games but the junior has had a fantastic season overall. The 6-foot-5 guard leads Texas State in scoring averaging 17.1 PPG and is also the Bobcats top 3-point shooter, making 79 of 199 (39.7 3P%). Perhaps most impressive is Pearson has only 55 turnovers for the entire season, which is less than two per game. To top it off, Pearson also spearheads what is the best defensive team in the Sun Belt.

Tookie Brown – Georgia Southern

The 5-foot-11 senior has been the definition of consistency since the moment he arrived on campus. Brown has averaged over 17 PPG in each of his four seasons at Georgia Southern and recently eclipsed the 2,000 point plateau. What Tookie lacks in height, he makes up for with high-level quickness and excellent play-making abilities. With these attributes, he’s understandably been very effective at drawing contact and getting to the free throw line. If Georgia Southern is going to make a run to win the Sun Belt Tournament, Tookie will have to be on his game.

JaKeenan Gant – Louisiana

Gant is one of the leading shot blockers in the nation, but he is also much more than just a rim-protector. In addition to his 2.7 blocks per game, Gant is averaging 20.2 points, 8.5 rebounds on the season. As a 6-foot-8 senior who has developed a 3-point shot this past year, Gant is arguably the best pro prospect in the Sun Belt. It’s cool to see Gant have such success after not finding a great fit at Missouri his first two seasons. Now, no matter how Louisiana’s season ends, Gant has turned himself into quite the player.