South Alabama is projected to finish ninth in the 12-team Sun Belt Conference in basketball this season, according to voting by league coaches released Tuesday.
The Jaguars are picked to finish ahead of only Little Rock, Appalachian State and Louisiana-Monroe. South Alabama went 14-18 last season, losing to Coastal Carolina in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament.
Reigning regular-season champion UT-Arlington is again the pick this year, receiving nine of 12 first-place votes and 128 poll points. No. 2 Georgia State, No. 3 Troy (the 2017 conference tournament champion) and No. 5 Louisiana-Lafayette also received first place votes.