Regular season record
23-7 First in Sun Belt Conference
Post season
Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions
Second Round NCAA Tournament 13 seed.
Key Games
Nov. 25 At Ole Miss prediction: Loss
Panthers will face an SEC school again this season but it will be early in the season and the Panthers may still be working out kinks and will eventually be outlasted by a solid SEC opponent on the road.
January 7 vs. Troy Prediction: Win
The Panthers will open the Sun Belt season against Troy. This game could be the Panthers coming out party as a contender in the Sun Belt as they get a struggling Troy program looking to rebuild. Some of those early season kinks will be sorting out come January and the potential early season struggles begin getting further in the rearview mirror. Panthers should win big.
January 16 vs. UL Lafayette prediction: Win
The Panthers meet rival and Sun Belt favorite UL Lafayette at home. This will be a statement game and will look to give one of these two contenders a chance to gain a leg up in the Sun Belt. The Panthers beat UL Lafayette two of the three times they faced off last season after the Ragin Cajuns knocked the Panthers out in the Sun Belt Championship game in 2014. Panthers win a close classic in a packed Sports Arena.
January 19 vs. Georgia Southern prediction: Win
This game is an obvious reason to get up right? Back-to-back rivalry games at home sounds like an exciting week for fans. But this is tricky. The Panthers get by the Sun Belt favorite UL Lafayette Ragin Cajuns and fall to the less talented and possibly rebuilding Eagles? This will be a test in the Panthers’ character as a team more than its skill level. The Panthers will be on an emotional high after beating a team that has become one of the biggest rivals and is supremely talented in its own right. The Panthers’ biggest rival Georgia Southern comes in three days later with revenge on its mind after being denied the Sun Belt Conference regular season and Tournament crowns be the Panthers and spoils the fun. Sounds like set up for disaster? But the Panthers have been there and done that and at this point in the season the roll could be on the way. The Panthers handle their business in a close game.
March 3 At UL Lafayette prediction: Loss
The Ragin Cajuns get to pay the Panthers back for the early season encounter. This matchup could go a long way in deciding the regular season crown. The Panthers will look to have built a good cushion on the first seed in the Sun Belt Tournament by this point. The Panthers will win the Sun Belt but the Ragin Cajuns will use home emotion to push them over the Panthers in an emotional rematch.
Projected stat leaders
Jeff Thomas 14.5 PPG 6 RPG 2 APG
Kevin Ware 11.2 PPG 3 RPG 3 APG
Markus Crider 11.1 PPG 7 RPG 2.4 APG
Isaiah Williams 8.7 PPG 2 RPG 5 APG
Jeremy Hollowell 7.6 PPG 7 RPG 1.3 APG
Isaiah Dennis 7.5 PPG 2 RPG 2 APG
Jordan Session 5.3 PPG RPG 5.5 1.6 APG
