Bracket Unveiled for 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship Presented By Air Force Reserve – Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference on Friday released the full bracket and schedule for the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship Presented By Air Force Reserve. The single-elimination, 14-team tournament runs March 3–9 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida, with all games streamed on ESPN+ and the title game on ESPN2. Troy secured the regular-season crown and the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed after finishing 20–11 overall and 12–6 in Sun Belt play; six teams finished tied at 11–7 for second place. The bracket reflects the league’s updated format: top seeds receive double- and single-round byes that alter the path to the semifinals and final.

• Tournament dates: March 3–9, 2026, at Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, Fla.; all 14 Sun Belt institutions participate in single-elimination play.
• No. 1 seed Troy finished 20–11 overall and 12–6 in conference play and earned the top seed and a bye to the semifinal round.
• Six teams—Marshall, Coastal Carolina, App State, Texas State, South Alabama and Arkansas State—tied at 11–7 in Sun Belt play and occupy seeds 2–7 per league tiebreakers.
• Under the format adopted before 2024–25, No. 1 (Troy) and No. 2 (Marshall) receive byes into the semifinals on Sunday, March 8; Nos. 3 (Coastal Carolina) and 4 (App State) have byes into the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 7.
• First-round action opens Tuesday, March 3; the championship is Monday, March 9 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2, with earlier rounds streamed on ESPN+.
• Tickets remain on sale via Ticketmaster; the tournament page hosts bracket, schedule and ticket links.

Background

The Sun Belt’s postseason format was altered before the 2024–25 season to give the top two seeds direct entry into the semifinals and the next two seeds into the quarterfinals, a change intended to reward regular-season success and compress midweek rounds. The conference fields 14 teams in 2026; all will play in Pensacola under the single-elimination bracket. That alignment was designed to create clearer advantages for the highest seeds while providing early-round opportunities for lower seeds to gain momentum.

Troy’s rise to an outright regular-season title completes back-to-back league crowns after the program shared the 2025 regular-season trophy in a four-way tie and then won the 2025 tournament—its first tournament title since 2017. The six-way 11–7 logjam for second underscores parity across the league this season and makes the middle seeds pivotal in determining who reaches the title game. Conference officials and member athletic departments view the Pensacola venue as a central location to concentrate fan engagement and media coverage while offering a neutral-court backdrop for March postseason play.

Main Event

The week opens Tuesday, March 3, with two first-round matchups: (12) Louisiana vs. (13) Georgia State at 5 p.m. CT and (11) Old Dominion vs. (14) ULM at 7:30 p.m. CT, both on ESPN+. Winners advance to Wednesday’s second-round games against higher seeds. Subsequent first-week matchups cascade through a Wednesday–Friday sequence that produces quarterfinal pairings Saturday, March 7, featuring the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds entering after byes.

Saturday’s quarterfinal winners advance to Sunday’s semifinals, where No. 1 Troy will await the Game 9 winner at 5 p.m. CT and No. 2 Marshall will face the Game 10 winner at 7:30 p.m. CT. The tournament culminates Monday, March 9 at 6 p.m. CT with the championship game on ESPN2; the winner secures the Sun Belt’s automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament. All games except the final stream on ESPN+ per the conference’s broadcast agreement.

The bracket pairs several rematches and intra-state rivalries that could draw regional interest; for example, Louisiana (No. 12) meets Georgia State (No. 13) in the opener. Lower-seeded winners will face mid-seed opponents quickly, which can create condensed turnarounds and strategic coaching decisions on rotation, particularly for teams playing multiple nights in a row. The Pensacola Bay Center schedule was organized to balance fan travel patterns and television windows across the week.

Analysis & Implications

Troy’s top seed and direct path to the semifinals (two fewer games than many opponents) creates a measurable advantage: fewer minutes played and more recovery time heading into the title-deciding rounds. That advantage matters in conference tournaments where depth and fatigue often determine outcomes; Troy’s 20–11 overall record and conference consistency suggest it will be favored on paper, though single-elimination play always invites upsets.

The six-way tie at 11–7 highlights the Sun Belt’s competitive balance and makes seed-based byes—or lack thereof—particularly consequential. Teams seeded 3–6 must navigate at least one do-or-die midweek game before facing rested opponents with byes, which could magnify the importance of bench depth and in-game foul management. For bubble teams nationally, a deep Sun Belt run or the automatic bid could reshape NCAA Tournament bracket projections come Selection Sunday.

Economically and operationally, the Pensacola date cluster concentrates hotel, venue and local-business revenue within a single week, a pattern the conference and city likely expect to leverage for recurring partnership value. Broadcast exposure—ESPN+ for early rounds and ESPN2 for the final—sustains national visibility for mid-major programs seeking recruiting and fundraising benefits from postseason appearances. For coaches, the structure incentivizes regular-season wins: finishing top-two now buys a two-round cushion, an arrangement that may influence late-season strategies.

Comparison & Data

This schedule preserves the league’s stepped-bye format: first- and second-round games compress midweek, quarterfinals on Saturday allow recovery for top-four seeds, and semifinals and final occupy Sunday–Monday TV windows for national audiences.

Reactions & Quotes

“The bracket and schedule position Pensacola as the center of our postseason, with the top seeds rewarded under the revised format and a clear television plan in place for fans and partners.”

Sun Belt Conference (official release)

“Troy captured the outright regular-season title and the No. 1 seed after finishing 20–11 overall and 12–6 in Sun Belt play.”

Sun Belt Conference (official release)

“All early-round games will stream on ESPN+, with the championship game airing on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. CT on March 9.”

Sun Belt Conference broadcast notice

Unconfirmed

• The detailed tiebreaker sequence that ordered the six teams at 11–7 (seed-by-seed permutations) is not fully public in the release and has not been itemized in the conference statement.
• Exact attendance projections and ticket sales totals for each session at the Pensacola Bay Center were not disclosed in the announcement.
• Player availability due to late-season injuries or disciplinary matters for several teams was not specified in the bracket release and could affect matchups.

Bottom Line

The 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship sets up a compact, high-stakes week of games where Troy’s No. 1 seed and semifinal bye are significant competitive advantages. The six-team tie at 11–7 and the league’s stepped-bye format create scenarios where mid-seeded teams face immediate elimination games, increasing the tournament’s volatility and potential for surprise outcomes.

Fans and stakeholders should monitor final injury reports, ticket availability via Ticketmaster, and the conference’s tiebreaker clarification if they seek precise seed-order context. With national streaming for most rounds and the final on linear television, the tournament will shape postseason narratives for the Sun Belt and may affect NCAA selection considerations for multiple member programs.

Sources

• Sun Belt Conference — official release
• Ticketmaster — official ticketing partner
• ESPN — broadcast partner (media)