CSNbbs

#1 – Arlington

Little Rock did win 30 games last season, but Arlington won 24, and they return SIX starters from that team. Six? Well, six by stretching the point. Kevin Hervey had started 16 games before he was injured, so he is not among their top five in minutes played, but he surely would have been had he stayed healthy, given the fact that he led the team in scoring and rebounding and was a double/double machine.

Had it not been for the imposing presence of Mr. Long at UL, Hervey would have been the premier inside player in the SBC last year. He averaged 18.1 ppg and 9.8 rpg. He has three other double-figure scorers returning to help him out. UTA plays suffocating defense, allowing opponents to shoot only 39.6% overall. They totally dominate the boards (+8), which is saying a lot for a team that had no one over 6-8 who played last year. They are not a particularly good shooting team, but with their defense and rebounding, they do not have to be.

Arlington is a poster child for how to have an outstanding inside game without outstanding height. If they stay healthy this year, they have to be the favorites in the Sun Belt.

There you have it, folks. Pick it apart as you will. My opinions are worth no more than anyone else's.

Sorry I'm late to the party. The interesting thing about UTA is despite Hervey's ACL tear on Jan. 21, they still led the NCAA in rebounding. Something like 85% of scoring and rebounding return from last year.

On the downside, we won't be able to sneak up on anyone this year. UTA has been getting lots of national attention. Last year, we snuck up Ohio State and Memphis. Then Hervey went down, we lost four in a row, but righted the ship when I believe the rest of the conference wrote us off.