UPDATED: All fans are encouraged and welcome to the team send-off beginning at 3:15 p.m. Central at the Hilton Garden Inn Convention Center New Orleans (1001 South Peters St.).

NEW ORLEANS – The #2-seeded UT Arlington men's basketball team (16-15, 12-6 Sun Belt Conference) gets its 2019 Sun Belt Tournament underway on Saturday night in the semifinals against #3-seeded Georgia Southern (21-11, 12-6 SBC) at 5:30 p.m. inside Lakefront Arena.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Links and information related to all UTA Sun Belt Tournament happenings can be accessed by clicking here to view the team's tournament central page.
 
The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ by clicking here, while the Voice of the Mavericks Josh Sours will have the call on the radio at KEXB 620 AM and streaming via the TuneIn App and iHeartRadio. Furthermore, for updates and behind-the-scenes photos and videos, be sure to follow @UTA_MBB on Twitter and @UTA_Hoops on Instagram.
 
HOW WE GOT HERE
The top-4 seeds all chalked their way to the semifinals as #1 Georgia State and #4 Texas State will meet in the first matchup on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Bobcats defeated #8 South Alabama in the quarterfinals on Friday, 79-67, while Georgia Southern ran away easily from #7 ULM in the late quarterfinal matchup, 81-67.
 
Entering the regular-season finale last Saturday, UTA needed to defeat Texas State and have Georgia State win at Georgia Southern to secure the #2 seed, and that is exactly what transpired.
 
Georgia State won the regular-season title outright with a 13-5 record to post the #1 seed, while UTA, Georgia Southern and Texas State all finished 2nd with 12-6 marks. UTA went 3-1 against the Eagles and Bobcats, GS went 2-2 and TXST went 1-3 to post the #2, #3 and #4 seeds, respectively.
 
TWEETABLES – 5 Things To Know In 260 Characters Or Less
1) UTA will be looking for its 750th all-time win. In their 60th season, the Mavs are 749-933, but five of the program's seven all-time 20-win seasons have come in the last 10 years – including three in a row.
2) UTA, Georgia Southern and Louisiana are the only SBC teams which have posted five-straight seasons of double-figure conference wins; since joining the league in 2013-14, UTA is the only school to finish in the top 5 of the standings all six seasons.
3) The Mavs have five games of double-figure 3-point makes this year; all five came in Sun Belt play, including three in a row and four in the last eight contests.
4) UTA posted the following SBC and non-conference stat comparisons: 12.9 turnovers per game in conference play (15.9 in the non-conference), 14.6 assists per game (10.5 non-conference) and 38.4 rebounds per game (37.6 non-conference).
5) After concluding the non-conference schedule with a 4-9 record, UTA dropped its first two league games at home to fall to 4-11 overall. However, after being seven games below .500, the Mavs concluded the regular season above .500.
 
Bonus Tweet
Head coach Chris Ogden has utilized 14 different starting lineups – the 2nd-most starting 5 combinations in the nation to this point (UT Martin: 18). That includes the Mavericks having started the same five players 10 games in a row prior to mixing up the lineup two weeks ago and now having started those same five for four-straight games.
 
GETTING HOT AT THE RIGHT TIME
UTA enters the tournament on a four-game winning streak thanks in large part to a drastic improvement in shooting. For the first 27 games of the year, UTA was shooting 39.7 percent from the floor, 28 percent from 3-point range and averaging 6.5 made 3s per game. During the four-game winning streak, the Mavs are shooting 51.1 percent from the floor, 49.5 percent from 3-point range and averaging 11.8 made 3s.
 
Incredibly, 21 percent of UTA's total 3 pointers (47 of 222) on the year have come in the last four games. Included in that stretch are the three-highest 3-point totals of the season (15 @ South Alabama, 12 @ Troy and 12 versus ULM) and the three-highest field goal percentage performances of the year (56 @ South Alabama, 52.7 @ Troy and 52 versus Texas State.
 
UTA'S SBC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This will be UTA's sixth Sun Belt Tournament appearance since joining the conference in 2013-14. The Mavericks have had a different seed each of those six years: #6 (2014), #5 (2015), #3 (2016), #1 (2017), #4 (2018) and now #2 (2019). The Mavs have a 5-5 all-time SBC Tournament record.
 
This is the fourth-straight year that UTA has reached at least the semifinal, but the first time they've received a bye all the way to that round. The Mavs got to their first tournament final last year before falling short to 2nd-seeded Georgia State, 74-61.­­
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
UTA and Georgia Southern split the season series, with each team winning on the others home court. The Eagles defeated UTA, 77-64, on Jan. 5, while the Mavericks' clipped the Eagles on Jan. 24, 72-67.
 
The home loss to GS in early January moved UTA's record to 4-11 overall and 0-2 in SBC play. Since that game, the Mavs have posted a 12-4 record.
 
The 13-point loss to Georgia Southern was the largest any Sun Belt opponent handed UTA all conference season. UTA lost just two SBC games by double figures, and both came at home (Louisiana, 76-64, on Feb. 21).
 
In the win at Georgia Southern, UTA posted a season-best 13-point comeback. The Mavs' shot just 29 percent (9-31) from the floor in the 1st half before connecting at a 55-percent clip (16-29) in the 2nd half and erasing what was a 48-35 Eagles' lead with 17 minutes to play.
 
In the home loss, GS ran away from UTA in the 2nd half. After the game was tied at halftime, 32-32, Georgia Southern out-scored the Mavs, 45-32, in the 2nd half behind torrid 62-percent shooting from the floor (13-21) – the highest percentage UTA has allowed in any half this season.
 
In both games this year, Georgia Southern's Tookie Brown – the Sun Belt Player of the Year – scored just 15 total points – 4 on the road and 11 at home. Brown averages 18 points per game. He is one of eight different top-10 scorers in the league that UTA held below their season average during the regular season.
 
The matchup pits two of the three hottest teams in the league as Georgia Southern is 8-2 in its last 10 games and UTA (along with Georgia State) is 7-3.
 
This will be the second time this year that Georgia Southern has faced UTA while the Mavs were riding a four-game winning streak. UTA had a four-game winning streak heading into Statesboro in late January; that eventual five-game winning streak was the longest of the season by the Mavs.
 
The all-time series between UTA and Georgia Southern is tied at 5-5. The 10 matches have alternated winners and losers, with UTA winning last:
 
Date                Location         W/L    Score
12.29.72          Claxton, Ga.    L          73-69
12.30.14          Arlington         W        62-61
3.5.15              Statesboro       L          76-64
1.2.16              Arlington         W        92-72
2.4.16              Statesboro       L          82-73
2.20.17            Statesboro       W        81-71
1.27.18            Statesboro       L          74-59
2.22.18            Arlington         W        83-63
1.5.19              Arlington         L          77-64
1.24.19            Statesboro       W        72-67
 
BEST IMPROVEMENT FROM START TO FINISH
UTA was picked 11th in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll, but finished tied for 2nd – representing a +9 improvement. That is tied for the largest improvement by any team in the nation from predicted to final position in a conference regular season. Siena was picked 11th in the MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference), but also finished tied for 2nd in the league.
 
SMALLEST IN THE NATION
According to KenPom, UTA is the smallest team in the country, averaging just 74.5 inches (6-foot-2). Despite that, the Mavs led the Sun Belt in league games with 38.4 rebounds per contest and rebound margin at +3.8. Entering this week, UTA's 37.2 rebound average is 80th in the nation.
 
MINUTES CONTINUITY
KenPom utilizes a statistical measure called minutes continuity to determine what percentage of a team's minutes are played by the same player from last season to this season. The national average is around 50%, but UTA is lowest among non-first year D-I programs at 5.2%. North Alabama and Cal Baptist – both in their first years as D-I programs – are at 0 percent.
 
In addition to having almost an entirely new roster to account for those minutes, UTA is the only Sun Belt team which doesn't have a single player averaging at least 30 minutes per game. Warren leads the Mavs at 29.5, while Dennis is at 28.7 – the only two players over 25 minutes per game.
 
WINS AND LOSSES
UTA has the following select statistical comparisons in losses and wins this year (losses listed first):
 
Points Per Game: 61.3 / 77.1
Field Goal Percentage: 37.3 / 44.8
3-Point Percentage: 24.1 / 37.6
3-Pointers Per Game: 5.8 / 8.4
Free Throws Per Game: 12 / 17.8
Assists Per Game: 10.7 / 14.9
 
SINGLE-SEASON PROGRAM RECORDS
UTA is on pace, or approaching, single-season program records in 3-point percentage defense (current: .300; record: .302 in 1994-95) and free-throw percentage (current: .740; record: .760 in 1965-66). The current free-throw percentage mark is the best since a 75-percent clip in 2008-09, and the 3-point percentage defense mark ranks 18th nationally.
 
INCREDIBLE TURNAROUND
After concluding the non-conference schedule with a 4-9 record, UTA dropped its first two league games at home to fall to 4-11 overall. However, after being seven games below .500, the Mavs concluded the regular season above .500.
 
SUN BELT COACH OF THE YEAR CHRIS OGDEN
Ogden was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year, and is also one of 12 finalists for the Joe B. Hall Award, giving annually to the top first-year head coach in Division-I Men's Basketball.
 
Entering this season, UTA returned just 3.2 percent of its scoring – the fewest by any D-I team in the nation. The Mavs had just 87 of 2,640 points back from its 2017-18 roster, including just one scholarship player in DJ Bryant. UTA lost its top-9 scorers (eight seniors; one transfer) from last year, but Ogden molded together a group of newcomers – of which UTA had 12 at the start of the year, the 3rd-most in the country – as 97 percent (2,090 of 2,153) of the Mavs' points this year have come from players who didn't suit up for UTA last season.
 
In conference games, UTA led the SBC in field-goal percentage defense (.409), rebounds per game (38.4) and rebound margin (+3.8); the Mavs finished 2nd in points per game allowed (69), free-throw percentage (.752), scoring margin (+4.1) and assists per game (14.6).
 
ALL-CONFERENCE PERFORMER BRIAN WARREN
Junior transfer Brian Warren was selected to the Sun Belt Conference Third Team after leading UTA in scoring (15.3 ppg) and assists (3.6 apg), and hitting three shots in conference play which forced overtime or double overtime that the Mavs won to help guide them to the #2 seed and triple bye to the semifinals.
 
In his first year as a Mav, Warren finished the regular season 12th in the league in scoring, 5th in free-throw percentage (.800), 9th in assists and 15th in field-goal percentage (.406). The guard was named the SBC Co-Player of the Week on Feb. 4 and eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark in a contest at now-#1 Gonzaga in December.
 
The 5-9 lefty posted two 30+ point games in conference action, highlighted by a career-high 33 against ULM – a victory which spearheaded UTA's four-game winning streak entering the SBC Tournament. He had 23 games of double-figure points during the campaign, including six which were 20 or more.
 
NEXT UP
The Sun Belt Tournament Final is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday and will air live on ESPN2.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTA_MBB) and Instagram (@UTA_Hoops).