The Denver Pioneers are the prohibitive favorite to win the 2012 Sun Belt Tournament now that they are highest remaining seed in the tournament at No. 3. The No. 1 Middle Tenn. St. Blue Raiders and the No. 2 Ark.-Little Rock Trojans both fell in the quarterfinals on Sunday, the No. 7 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, Denver's opponent, defeating the latter team.
Denver picked up a 61-50 victory over the No. 6 South Alabama Jaguars on Saturday night. Brian Stafford and Rob Lewis tied for the team-high of 14 points while Royce O'Neale put in 11 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. They fended off Augustine Rubit, who scored 21 points.
Western Kentucky was powered by Derrick Gordon's 25 points and 15 rebounds in the victory over the Trojans. George Fant (13 points) and Kahlil McDonald (11) joined Gordon in double digits, but the team shot just 38.2 percent in the game.
Let's see how Chris Udofia performs in this game. He scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in Denver's 78-65 victory on Jan. 15.
Game time/date: 7:30 p.m. MT, Monday, March 5, 2012
Location: Summit Arena, Hot Springs, Ark.
TV: Sun Belt Network
For updates on the tournament, stick with SB Nation Denver. Head over to SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more news and notes from around the college hoops world. Stay up to date with the 2012 Sun Belt Tournament bracket.