# 2009–10 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season

The 2009–10 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season marked the 33rd season of Sun Belt Conference men's basketball during the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.

## Preseason

Blue Ribbon magazine predicted Western Kentucky University to win the East Division. The Hilltoppers are returning from a season in which they came within one second of upsetting Gonzaga and advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In addition, Hilltopper star A.J. Slaughter was named the Preseason Player of the Year.

### Sun Belt Preseason Poll
#### East Division

| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Western Kentucky |
| 2 | Troy |
| 3 | Middle Tennessee State |
| 4 | South Alabama |
| 5 | Florida Atlantic |
| 6 | Florida International |

#### West Division

| Rank | Team |
| 1 | North Texas |
| 2 | UALR |
| 3 | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| 4 | Denver |
| 5 | Arkansas State |
| 6 | ULM |
| 7 | New Orleans |

### Preseason All-SBC Team

* G -- Brandon Hazzard (Troy, Sr.)
* G -- A. J. Slaughter (WKU, Sr.)
* F -- Nate Rohnert (Denver, Sr.)
* F -- Eric Tramiel (North Texas, Sr.)
* F -- Desmond Yates (Middle Tennessee, Sr.)

## Regular season
### Non-conference

In terms of upsets over the six major conferences, Western Kentucky beat Vanderbilt University 76-69 on December 11. A.J. Slaughter scored 27 points to lead the Hilltoppers to their first win over Vanderbilt since 1946. Western Kentucky led for the final 16:33 of the game, though Vanderbilt cut the lead to one twice. This was Vanderbilt's second consecutive loss.

### Conference season
## Postseason
### SBC Tournament

| First round Saturday, March 6 | First round Saturday, March 6 | First round Saturday, March 6 | Second round Sunday, March 7 | Second round Sunday, March 7 | Second round Sunday, March 7 | Semifinals Monday, March 8 | Semifinals Monday, March 8 | Semifinals Monday, March 8 | | Championship game Tuesday, March 9 | Championship game Tuesday, March 9 | Championship game Tuesday, March 9 |
| | | | 1 | Troy | 67 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | South Alabama | 55 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | FAU | 51 | 9 | South Alabama | 55 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | South Alabama | 52 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | South Alabama | 52 | | | | 1 | Troy | 54 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Western Kentucky | 48 | | | | |
| 4 | Western Kentucky | 83 | | | | | | | 4 | Western Kentucky | 48 | |
| 13 | New Orleans | 58 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | New Orleans | 58 | 4 | Western Kentucky | 65 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Arkansas State | 64 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Arkansas State | 89* | 5 | Arkansas State | 64 | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Ark-Little Rock | 82 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Ark-Little Rock | 82 | | | | | | | | 1 | Troy | 63 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 2 | North Texas | 66 |
| | | | 3 | Middle Tennessee | 58 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Denver | 73 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Denver | 71 | 6 | Denver | 73 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | FIU | 64 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | FIU | 64 | | | | 6 | Denver | 56 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | North Texas | 63 | | | | |
| | | | 2 | North Texas | 69 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 10 | UL Monroe | 66 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | UL Lafayette | 75 | 10 | UL Monroe | 66 | | | | | | | |
| 10 | UL Monroe | 76 | | | | | | | | | | |
Asterisk denotes game ended in overtime.