The 2022–23 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season was the season for Sun Belt Conference men's basketball teams that began with practices in October 2022, followed by the start of the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2022. The regular season ended in March 2023.

Conference realignment

The SBC lost two members and gained four in July 2022.

The conference's two non-football members, Little Rock and UT Arlington, left with Little Rock joining the Ohio Valley Conference and UT Arlington joining the Western Athletic Conference. Three schools left Conference USA to join the SBC—Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss, with Old Dominion returning to the SBC after a 31-year absence. James Madison joined from the Colonial Athletic Association.

Head coaches Coaching changes Georgia State Following an appearance in the 2022 NCAA Division I tournament, Georgia State head coach Rob Lanier left to coach the SMU Mustangs. On April 6, 2022, Jonas Hayes was named as the new head coach starting the 2022 regular season.

Coaches TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordSun Belt recordSun Belt titlesSun Belt Tournament titlesNCAA TournamentsAppalachian StatePresbyterian4011Arkansas StateMike Balado5000Coastal CarolinaCliff EllisAuburn15002Georgia SouthernBrian BurgTexas Tech (Asst.)2000Georgia State1000James MadisonMark Byington2000LouisianaBob MarlinSam Houston12111Louisiana–MonroeKeith Richard12000MarshallDan D'Antoni8001Old DominionAmerican9001South AlabamaNicholls4000Southern MissJay Ladner2000Texas StateTerrence Johnson2200TroyScott Cross4000 Notes:

All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes 2022–23 season. Overall and Sun Belt records are from time at current school only and are through the beginning of the season.

Preseason Preseason Coaches Poll On October 17, 2022, the conference announced a preseason conference poll as voted on by the league's 14 head coaches. RankTeam 1. Louisiana (10) 2. Texas State (1) 3. South Alabama (1) 4. James Madison (1) 5. Georgia State (1) 6. Marshall 7. Appalachian State 8. Coastal Carolina 9. Old Dominion 10. Troy 11. Georgia Southern 12. Arkansas State 13. Southern Miss 14. Louisiana–Monroe(first place votes)

Preseason Awards The conference also announced preseason All-SBC teams. Honor Recipient Preseason Player of the YearJordan Brown, Louisiana All-SBC First TeamJordan Brown, LouisianaMason Harrell, Texas StateTaevion Kinsey, MarshallVado Morse, James MadisonKevin Samuel, South Alabama All-SBC Second TeamDonovan Gregory, Appalachian StateFelipe Haase, Southern MissKobe Julien, LouisianaEssam Mostafa, Coastal CarolinaGreg Parham II, South Alabama All-SBC Third TeamKamdyn Curfman, MarshallCaleb Fields, Arkansas StateNika Metskhvarishvili, Louisiana–MonroeAndrew Taylor, MarshallZay Williams, Troy

Attendance TeamArenaCapacityGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5Game 6Game 7Game 8Game 9Game 10Total Average% of CapacityGame 11Game 12Game 13Game 14Game 15Game 16Game 17Game 18Game 19Game 20Appalachian State Holmes Center 8,325 1,944 2,145 2,856 2,603 1,553 1,976 1,622 1,394 1,819 1,651 40,397 2,376 28.54% 2,377 2,559 3,487 2,685 3,870† 2,205 3,651Arkansas State First National Bank Arena 10,038 3,092 1,387 3,686† 2,495 2,380 2,274 1,541 2,072 1,378 2,347 32,271 1,793 17.86% 1,257 1,024 1,132 1,084 1,341 1,402 1,026 1,353Coastal Carolina HTC Center 3,370 1,223 1,127 1,003 1,509 1,327 1,934 1,372 1,201 2,143† 1,459 23,841 1,490 44.22% 1,321 1,656 1,923 1,578 1,655 1,410Georgia Southern Hanner Fieldhouse 4,325 1,328 512 1,423 724 545 501 573 957 1,009 1,412 20,527 1,283 29.66% 1,553 2,672† 1,863 1,727 1,283 2,445Georgia State Georgia State Convocation Center 7,500 2,089 4,083† 1,607 1,259 1,198 1,331 1,416 1,385 1,440 1,176 33,997 1,789 23.86% 1,878 1,306 1,673 1,479 3,309 2,024 1,581 1,913 1,850James Madison Atlantic Union Bank Center 8,500 3,148 3,768 4,303 3,642 2,785 3,068 3,540 3,787 5,609 6,429† 60,283 4,306 50.66% 4,829 5,668 4,688 5,019Louisiana Cajundome 11,500 2,045 3,181 2,630 2,643 2,475 3,007 3,306 3,148 3,508 3,256 43,603 3,115 27.08% 5,351† 2,948 2,615 3,494Louisiana-Monroe Fant-Ewing Coliseum 7,085 538 744 887 871 978 828 1,208 1,984 3,568 2,007 27,101 1,807 25.05% 3,659† 3,023 3,558 962 2,286Marshall Cam Henderson Center 9,048 4,240 3,625 3,573 4,315 4,012 5,180 4,065 4,035 4,816 4,508 79,145 4,656 51.45% 4,672 4,321 5,719† 4,931 5,711 5,711 5,711Old Dominion Chartway Arena 8,472 4,798 5,085 4,898 7,966† 4,579 4,741 4,297 4,464 5,094 6,021 89,903 5,619 66.23% 5,433 5,954 7,691 7,029 5,428 6,425South Alabama Mitchell Center 10,041 2,019 7,673† 1,667 1,455 1,451 1,812 1,725 2,246 1,894 2,779 32,180 2,299 22.89% 1,955 1,404 2,398 1,702Southern Miss Reed Green Coliseum 8,095 2,523 2,350 2,428 3,022 2,581 2,600 3,265 3,192 4,128 4,318 56,534 3,769 46.56% 4,266 4,289 8,097† 4,587 4,888Texas State Strahan Arena 10,000 1,131 1,282 1,189 1,329 877 1,052 941 3,183 3,397† 2,331 26,261 1,876 18.76 2,638 2,518 1,776 2,617Troy Trojan Arena 6,000 2,879 2,498 2,130 2,987 2,081 2,322 2,972 2,953 3,154 3,314 42,500 3,306 50.60% 3,192 4,014 3,772 4,232† Bold – At or exceeded capacity

† – Season high

Honors and awards Sun Belt Awards

2022-23 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the Year Taevion Kinsey – MarshallCoach of the Year Jay Ladner – Southern Miss Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Samuel – South AlabamaNewcomer of the Year Austin Crowley – Southern MissFreshman of the Year Micah Handlogten – Marshall Sixth Man Award Terrence Edwards Jr. – James Madison

2022-23 Sun Belt Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Third TeamJordan Brown – Louisiana Taevion Kinsey – Marshall Andrew Taylor – Marshall Isaiah Moore – South Alabama Austin Crowley – Southern MissAndrei Savrasov – Georgia Southern Terrence Edwards Jr. – James Madison Greg Williams – Louisiana Felipe Haase – Southern Miss Zay Williams – TroyDonovan Gregory – Appalachian State Jamari Blackmon – ULM Chaunce Jenkins – Old Dominion Kevin Samuel – South Alabama DeAndre Pinckney – Southern Miss Mason Harrell – Texas State

References