Though the Denver Pioneers are playing out its final year as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, they will look to go out on top by winning the 2012 Sun Belt Tournament. With one game left on the regular season schedule, the Pioneers have already clinched a first-round bye for the tournament.
Denver clinched a first round bye in the Sun Belt Tournament. DU will open play in the quarterfinals on Sun., March 4. Opponent TBA.
— denver basketball (@DU_MHoops) February 19, 2012
The top five teams in the league each receive a bye into the quarterfinals. The Pioneers, 10-5 in Sun Belt play, are currently tied for second in the West division with Louisiana-Lafayette while Arkansas-Little Rock is atop the standings with an 11-3 conference record. The Middle Tenn. St. Blue Raiders wrapped up the East division a long time ago and are currently 13-1 in the conference. That one conference loss came at the hands of the Pioneers during an ESPN-televised game on Feb. 4.
The tournament will, once again, take place at Summit Arena in Hot Springs, Ark., on March 3-6, 2012. Here is the schedule of games:
| Game | Matchup (MT) |
Coverage |
| 3-Mar | No. 8 Seed vs. No. 9 Seed - 5:00 p.m. | |
| 3-Mar | No. 6 Seed vs. No. 11 Seed - 5:15 p.m. | |
| 3-Mar | No. 7 Seed vs. No. 10 Seed - 7:30 p.m. | |
| 4-Mar | Winner Game 1 vs. East/West Champion - 5:00 p.m. | |
| 4-Mar | No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed - 5:15 p.m. | |
| 4-Mar | Winner Game 3 vs. East/West Champion - 7:30 p.m. | |
| 4-Mar | Winner Game 2 vs. No. 3 Seed - 7:45 p.m. | |
| 5-Mar | Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 - 5:00 p.m. | SBC Network |
| 5-Mar | Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 7:30 p.m. | SBC Network |
| 6-Mar | Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 - 5:00 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Stick with SB Nation Denver for more coverage of Denver Pioneers athletics. Check out SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more news and notes as we head for March Madness.