2025/26 Starts

I was walking into work today and I realized I didn't do a preseason post to the upcoming men's and women's basketball teams. Truth is, no one has any clue how the season will shake up. I have seen pundits, insiders and other experts have wildly different polls. So I'll give the Western Athletic Conference's opinion only and basically leave it at that.

I have seen these knowledgeable people have UT Arlington as high as number one on the men's side and as low as number six out of seven possible teams. With such a high turnover in roster, it is essentially a rebuild every year for most teams. I don't know the impact that has on support. On the one hand, UTA fans knew the Mavericks were going to be really good in the mid teens. Fans showed up. On the other, if you don't know and the team is rough, do you still go to games early? I don't know. It's just an academic argument.

But as it is, for the men, the WAC coaches poll is as follows:

Volleyball Preseason is Near the End

The Western Athletic Conference released the 2025 volleyball preseason poll and I have a suspicion that the UT Arlington Mavericks will feel a little disrespected. The defending champs were picked second by the conference's coaches.

The Utah Valley Wolverines were tagged as the preseason favorites, garnering five of the seven coaches first-place votes and a total of 34 points. UTA garnered one and the Utah Tech Trailblazers grabbed the final first-place vote. The Mavs edged the Blazers in total points, 29 to 25.

California Baptist was fourth (21), Abilene Christian (17), Tarleton State (12) and Southern Utah (9) round out the preseason poll.

This One Seems Off

 As expected, the Western Athletic Conference released the coaches poll for the upcoming men's basketball season on Monday. Again, like I did yesterday with the commentary for the UT Arlington women's basketball team, I want to emphasize that I don't believe any singular poll is worth anything other than commentary. And I definitely have something to say with this one.

But first, the poll, with first place votes in parenthesis:

1. Grand Canyon         (9)    99

2. Stephen F. Austin    (2)    87

3. Seattle                              86

4. Utah Valley                      61

5. Abilene Christian            60

6. Tarleton St                      49

7. California Baptist           47

8. UT Arlington                  43

t9. Southern Utah               26

t9. UT Rio Grande Valley  26

11. Utah Tech                     21

With Grand Canyon at the top, there's no surprise. Preseason Player of the Year is Ray Harrison, who tested the NBA waters this year before electing to come back. He was a big part of them winning the WAC tourney and getting to the NCAA's. Seattle has been consistently tough and Cam Tyson is a tough guard for any defense. SFA, I'm a little less sold on, but we'll see. I certainly think UTA closed the gap with them.

That's about Right

 It's that time of year where anticipation for the upcoming UT Arlington basketball seasons is starting to build. Schedules have been released, there's little fall outlets for sports competition and in the case of this year, tons of new faces and a new coach on the men's side. Rankings and preseason polls are coming out. 

Yesterday, the Western Athletic Conference released the coaches' poll for how they see the conference race ending. Those that know me know I'm not a fan of these things, with one exception: they are wildly wrong way more than they are close to right and provide fodder and motivation in a distractionary way. In the transfer portal era, where just about every team seems to have at a minimum 50 percent roster turnover, these are worth the paper they are printed on. However, they are great for talking and getting ready for the season. 

 The Mavericks were tabbed seventh, which is about right for where we were last year. The Mavs were tabbed first and second, depending on the poll and finished eighth. There were injuries that caused issues, but they underperformed against teams they shouldn't have. So, this is about right.

Summer is almost over because...

 ...the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball preseason poll was released yesterday as well as the preseason accolades. Those get released roughly a week before the season starts which means the summer doldrums are almost up. WAC and NCAA women's soccer has already started, but seeing as that is one of many teams UT Arlington does not have, volleyball is the Maverick bellwether for the end of summer.

The same disclaimer I put before every preseason poll is coming: the poll plus a dollar will get you four quarters. While volleyball doesn't have the same turnover that football, both genders of basketball and baseball do, there's still new faces, new coaches and in some cases new teams, though the WAC did not add any University this year. All that change gives a bit of uncertainty to the poll. It does set clear expectations for the season and this poll has the UTA squad right around my expectations.

But first the poll:

2016/17 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Predictions

I posted the Sun Belt Conference women's basketball predictions yesterday. They open the conference portion of the schedule tonight. Now I post the men's version. This was a lot tougher than past years as the Sun Belt looks to have a great chance to make a splash.

Nine teams are over .500 with another even in wins and losses. Of the two teams below the majority mark, one is by a single game. Yes, a few of those wins came against non-Division I opponents, but this is the best mark I have seen in the SBC since UTA joined.

Before I introduce my selections, here's what the coaches predicted for the SBC finish:

1. UT Arlington (10)
2. Little Rock (1)
3. Georgia State (1)
4. Georgia Southern
5. Coastal Carolina
6. South Alabama
7. Louisiana
8. Louisiana-Monroe
9. Troy
10. Arkansas State
11. Appalachian State
12. Texas State
I think if the coaches did what I did and voted now, there would be a lot of changes.

2016/17 Women's Basketball Sun Belt Conference Predictions

Time for the annual basketball conference predictions. Refresher for those who are new or don't obsess over this blog (and why not, hmm?), I don't like making preseason predictions without seeing the teams in action. There are too many unknowns and I feel I can give it more accuracy by seeing teams play against their non-conference opponents.

All good? Great! Here's how the coaches thought the end-of-year-standings would look:

1. Troy (3)
2. Little Rock (5)
3. UT Arlington (3)
4. South Alabama
5. UL Lafayette
6. Texas State
7. Arkansas State
8. Appalachian State (1)
9. Georgia State
10. Georgia Southern
11. Coastal Carolina
12. UL Monroe

2016 Sun Belt Volleyball Conference Predictions

The Sun Belt Conference begins the 2016 conference portion of the schedule this Friday. Consistent followers of this blog know I like to give my predictions for the conference finish after the normal non-conference schedule has concluded and prior to the start of conference play.

We've got a new format this year as the addition of Coastal Carolina allows the SBC to split into divisional play. Only problems I have with that are the unbalanced home vs. road games in a 16-match schedule and how do you adequately determine the true champion? UTA will play four cross-divisional road matches but play only two home matches. Playing uneven road and home matches also can effect the division standings as a team that hosts a preseason favorite will have a slight advantage over a team that plays them on the road.

Anyway, before I get into the breakdown, here's how the coaches foresaw the end result of 2016.

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.

2015 Sun Belt Volleyball Conference Predictions

As a primer for those just following this year, or not paying attention in previous years, I make my conference predictions at the close of the non-conference season, just prior to the start of conference play. I feel it gives a better look at teams, as sometimes some teams play better than expected or have an impact player not expected to be a big contributor, a coach who has the team running smoothly, etc. While I have been slightly made fun of compared to the pre-season predictions the conferences release, I'll take my marginally better track record compared to the coaches poll and move forward.

I feel this year's volleyball standings will look like past years, the teams in the top half will stay there, the teams in the bottom half won't move up. Not that surprising in the Group of 5 conferences Olympic Sports. It is expected and nothing I saw this year will change that dynamic.

The coaches estimated the following finish:
1) Little Rock
2) Texas State
3) Arkansas State
4) Appalachian St
5) UT-Arlington
6) Georgia State
7) Louisiana-Lafayette
8) Georgia Southern
9) South Alabama
10) Troy
11) Louisiana-Monroe

My picks are as follows:

2014/15 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Conference Predictions

First I did the men's basketball predictions, so naturally it is the women's time.

The coach's poll is as such:
1. Arkansas State (9) - 118 pts
2. UALR (2) - 112 pts
3. Texas State - 93 pts
4. Georgia State - 82 pts
5. Troy - 70 pts
6. UL Lafayette - 64 pts
7. South Alabama - 49 pts
8. Appalachian State - 47 pts
9. UT Arlington - 44 pts
10. Georgia Southern - 27 pts
11. UL Monroe - 20 pts

1 UALR (7-2). They've looked the most impressive to me. They have wins against some name teams like LSU, Oklahoma and Memphis (though these schools didn't get their names from women's basketball. The two losses to South Dakota State and Tulane give me a little pause, but at least the wins were DI and not Southland or Southwestern Athletic Conference teams. They are third in the conference in scoring defense, field goal percentage and fourth in rebounding. They play a slow grinding game that isn't fun to watch, but is successful when the record is concerned.

2014/15 Sun Belt men's basketball predictions

Time for the conference predictions for the upcoming Sun Belt basketball season, and as usual, it is later than most because I like to let the non-conference portion play out. I feel that gives a better feel for the teams and avoids some shot-in-the-dark guessing that can be otherwise seen.

At the beginning of the year, the coaches thought the final Sun belt standings would be:

1	Georgia State	121 (11)
2	UL Lafayette	110
3	UALR	94
4	UT Arlington	75
5	Arkansas State	73
6	UL Monroe	69
7	Texas State	43
8	Troy	42
9	Georgia Southern	38
	South Alabama	38
11	Appalachian State	23

Mine won't vary too much, but there were some question marks that did arise from a couple of teams, and some head turners from others.

1 Georgia State (7-4). The Panthers are the defending SBC champs and in some ways seem to be following the formula from last year. The non-conference record is better than the previous version, but for the top of the SBC, I'd hoped for better. Still, they have R.J. Hunter and Ryan Harrow, who can score. I still remember Markus Crider who killed the Mavs last year, and he's a role player for the squad. They are scorers from start to finish. The one weakness seems to be rebounding. Catch them on a cold shooting day and you can walk out with a W. There is no signature win and some losses to Colorado State, Old Dominion and Wisconsin-Green Bay, teams the top of the SBC could and maybe should beat, IMHO. However, the SBC is theirs to lose given what they did last year and with most of the cast returning.

2014 Sun belt Volleyball Predictions

For those new to the Maverick Rambler, I don't make preseason predictions. There are just too many unknowns. To try and predict the order of finish with teams I haven't seen before, new starters, new players, sometimes new coaches all without seeing any action is just a guess, in my opinion. So my MO is to go through the nonconference portion of the schedule and then take a stab at predicting the final standings.

This is a great example of why. The following is the how the coaches saw things shaking down at the beginning of the season.

Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team (First Place Votes)- Points
UALR (4)- 110
Texas State (3)- 99
Georgia Southern (2)- 95
UT Arlington- 83
South Alabama (1)- 76
UL Lafayette (1)- 63
Appalachian State- 62
Arkansas State- 58
Troy- 41
Georgia State- 28
UL Monroe- 11

Appalachian State has gone undefeated with a win over a previously ranked squad. Think they'd like a redo, especially for a team not having played the conference last year?

Without further ado, here's the Maverick Rambler's predictions for the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball season.

Basketball conference predictions

If you followed me during the volleyball season, you'll recall I don't like making conference predictions before a game has been played. There are just too many unknowns going into a season that making those kind of prognostications nothing more than talking points. For example, no one in the Sun Belt Conference gave Reger Dowell much consideration, but has been a huge part of the team for the Mavericks. However, I feel that watching games in the non-conference portion does lend some insight into predictions for conference play.

And in the end, for a conference like ours at this point in time, conference play is all that matters. The conference champion is likely the only NCAA Tournament participant. Maybe some teams will get at-larges into other postseason, but only one into the NCAA's.

For the men, the top two seeds get a double bye into the semi-finals of the conference tournament while the next two get a bye into the quarters. The next four teams play in the opening round. That is huge. If you will recall two seasons ago, the Mavs were upset in the semifinals. In this format, McNeese would be playing their third game, had they won two that point, whereas UT-Arlington would have played their first. Would that have meant a win? No guarantees, but it helps the odds.

On the women, the tournament is a standard single-elimination bracket, but eight teams get in, leaving two at home.

For the men, here's how I see the order of finish.

Volleyball to Start Sun Belt Play

Over the weekend, the Mavericks, along with the rest of the Sun Belt Conference, completed their out-of-conference schedule. UTA is now 7-6 and I liked what I saw out of the team when they played their last tournament in Boone, North Carolina. They beat the Denver Pioneers and East Carolina Pirates and lost to the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

While the competition at the Black and Gold Challenge won't contend for any serious titles, it was roughly on par with what they have seen so far this season. And unlike previous matches, there weren't mental lapses that cost them sets. If that keeps up, the rest of the season will be a bit better than the prognosticators thought at the beginning.

They beat Denver in five sets. While they aren't the same team as last year, neither is UTA. The Pioneers swept the Mavericks last year when both were members of the Western Athletic Conference. The two sets they lost were by six each, and only the fifth set win was by more than three, but they battled and didn't make too many mistakes. Aside from the first set loss, the attack percentage was good, and maybe the most important, steady. There was no .060 in one set followed by a .400 the next. Consistency is what I have been waiting for and they got it here.