2015/16 Sun Belt Conference Basketball Predictions.

Wednesday marks the start of the Sun Belt conference play for most basketball teams. So that means I roll out my predictions, where I get to exercise the ability to analyze the teams non-conference results and judge where they stand. I'm going to do something bold for the first time, but first, let's start with the men.

The coaches had the following thoughts as to how the final standings would appear:

1	UL Lafayette	119 (9)
2	Georgia State	108 (2)
3	UL Monroe	97
4	Arkansas State	71
5	Little Rock	68
6	Appalachian State	64
7	South Alabama	56
8	UT Arlington	48
	Texas State	48
10	Georgia Southern	28
11	Troy	19

Whoa boy do I disagree. The Sun Belt looks stronger than at any point during UTA's tenure and if the chips fall the right way, have the potential to be a two-bid conference come March Madness.

Non-Conference Play has Concluded

Since I became a Maverick in 2000, there has never been a more exciting time in UT Arlington basketball history than right now. In fact, looking back at the history of the program, I think I can say that with the possible exception of two-three years in the early 1980's, both teams have never been as national competitive as they are now. The men have made national, attention-grabbing wins (after being picked as the eighth best team in the 11-member Sun Belt by the coaches) and the women performed near expectations.

I'll break it down, starting with the men's team.

UTA opened the year with Fordham. They took control early, and looked like they would follow previous year's teams and watch the lead disappear. However, they made stops when they needed to and pulled out a 77-72 win. Fordham is not a powerhouse team, having won only ten games or less each of the past seven seasons and not having a winning record since 2006/07. Yet, they, like the Mavericks, have been more than was expected, as they sport a 9-2 record. It was a solid win, though no one knew it at the time.

2015 Volleyball Recap

Another season in the books, another year without making the tournament. I had high hopes for the UT Arlington squad this year and there were times when it looked like Mavericks would take the world by storm.

I suppose in some ways, the 19-10 season and 4th place Sun Belt Conference (10-6) finish out of 11 teams is good. It certainly beats the 2008 to 2012 stretch with one winning season. But in the end, we are the Mavericks, the most storied volleyball program in the Belt (and still the Southland Conference) with more NCAA tournament appearances than any team in Texas but two. It would be nice to actually be in contention for a conference title in the last week of the season. We haven't been there in a long, long time.

I guess I should come to terms that we haven't had the caliber of team as we had in the 1980's, with their sweet sixteen, elite eights and a final four. In many ways, I think I have, but I can't let go of the fact that we are in the longest tournament drought in the program's history. When I was a student, we were at the top of the Southland Conference and able to make the NCAA's in any given year. I'm hopeful we can now, but don't have the same feeling that we are a dominant team. I felt we had zero chance against Arkansas State, minimal hope versus Appalachian St and not surprised with the Texas State outcomes. That wasn't the case against any team in the early 2000's.

The team looked good this year in some matches. There were times were I really felt the were the dominant team that could impose their will. But it wasn't every match, not even close. When trouble hit, it came in a predictable manner.

Biggest Wins Ever?

In the last entry, the Maverick Rambler questioned whether the Ohio State win two games ago was the biggest win ever. Short answer was no, it was big, but not number one. Someone questioned if I had changed my stance after last night's 68-64 win at Memphis.

No, not really, cause once again, it hasn't changed anything. I still grant they are very, very big wins and likely could be more as the season progresses.

As we saw in the Louisiana Tech game, the only loss on UTA's ledger, when Kevin Hervey missed most of the second half, the team struggled mightily. There is a deep team under Coach Scott Cross, but without his play inside/out and at both ends of the floor, the Mavericks are likely another .500 Sun Belt team.

So at this point, I just plan to sit back and watch something potentially special this year. Maybe when it is all said and done, I'll consider these two games higher.

Biggest Win Ever?

If you haven't heard about UT Arlington's win over Ohio State Friday night, you either aren't a Maverick fan, have been living in a cave with no wifi or you depend on this blog for all your UTA news, and none of those options are good things.

I experienced some elation with the win just like everyone else, but I feel like there is a lot of over-reaction to this win. Don't get me wrong, it is a big one, certainly a milestone win for the program and head coach Scott Cross. Any win over any P5 team is great, especially the hoity-toity Big 10, as all P5 school's athletic budgets should make them better than UTA. But let me point out a few things that make me tap the brakes.

1) We don't really know how good this Ohio State team is. They lost five seniors and an All-American from a team that won a game in the NCAA tournament. The last time the Buckeyes lost to a Sun Belt team on their home floor, they went 6-22 for year, the worst in their history. Not saying that is going to be the case here, but this wasn't exactly a ranked team.

2) UTAMavs.com lead paragraph called this the biggest win in program history. Really? The biggest? Honestly, what did this win accomplish? I'd call the win over Northwestern State in the 2008 Southland Conference Tournament the biggest win in UTA's history. That actually put UTA in the big one for the first time. It gave us something. The win against Sam Houston State in the 2004 regular season finale, which clinched their first regular season title I could argue was bigger. In the end, if we lose every game from here on out, we gain nothing. If we win every game from here on out, we still would almost guaranteedly have to win the Sun Belt Tournament to advance and play in the NCAA's. A CIT or CBA invite is possible cause of it, but doesn't guarantee anything and we'd certainly have to win more games. Those wins I mentioned before did.

UTA Football Vol. 3, Game 12: The Championship Game at The Mav

Today is my absolute favorite entry this year. It is a scenario not often seen in UTA's history. Win and the Southland Conference championship resides in Arlington. Lose and the trophy goes somewhere else.

In the early days of the SLC, UTA played a few of these games. However, the 1970's just weren't kind. UTA finished 2nd a few times, but the title was lost early in the conference season. Those early losses meant some teams would have to lose for UTA to get the crown, and oftentimes a bowl berth, and those breaks never happened. It hit Coach Harold "Bud" Elliott harder than any other coach, as he finished one win out of first in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979. Most of those years would have included an Independence Bowl berth had he gotten that extra win.

When we last left the 1981 squad, they had just bounced back from a loss to Arkansas State by beating the Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. They still trailed McNeese State (2-0-1) and Arkansas State (2-1) in the standings and the likelihood of both losing was remote. But the second to last week of the season was one of the best for UTA as the Mavericks were playing the league leaders in the MSU Cowboys. The Cowboys had beaten Arkansas State a week prior to the Indians (now Red Wolves) win against UTA and controlled their own destiny. A tie to Lamar was MSU's only blemish.

In a very un-Maverick twist, one of the best kickers in Southland Conference history, Don Stump, had the tying extra point blocked in the fourth quarter after the Cowboys drove for the score down seven by UTA's Brent Hargrove. Then, MSU drove down to ten yard line and with 17 seconds left and Stump missed the game-winner. For a top SLC guy to miss not one, but two kicks just never happened to UTA. They rarely got those kind of breaks, it was usually the other way around.

School Spirit

Nothing much to this one, but I'm going to use my blogger to express my Maverick pride. I usually save this space for objective analysis of the Maverick teams. But after seeing the turnout yesterday for the women's season opener in Waco on Friday, the atmosphere at College Park Center for the homecoming game against Fordham on Saturday and volleyball setting a season attendance record this year, I just feel the Mavericks sports programs are no longer the best kept secret on campus.

Baylor women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey noticed the UTA students in the season opener.

"Compliment your students. I was so impressed. There had to be three-to-five hundred students up there and you outnumbered Baylor students. It sends a message to Baylor students. You have the number five team in the country and UTA students outnumber you."

Impressive indeed.

Great turnout for the men's game against Fordham. 3,868 reported for the season opening 77-72 win. Electric atmosphere's like that really propel a team to victory. Victories propel a following and attendance.

Now I get that those are all surrounding homecoming and may not be representative of the overall state of support. I respond in two ways. One, it never was like that when I was a student around homecoming and, two, it's not just homecoming. There seems to be an increasing following and it has been increasing this year.

UTA had over 2,000 to see a volleyball match this year. They are 628 fans away in Sunday's match from hitting 10,000 total attendance this year. That would set a record and they are doing it with 13 total matches. Last year saw 17 at College Park Center.

Just gotta say, feels good to be a Maverick right now.