2000 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament
{{Short description|Men's basketball tournament held in the year 2000}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NCAA Basketball Conference tournament |
| Year=2000
| Conference = Sun Belt Conference
| Division = I
| Gender = Men's
| Image =
| ImageSize = 200px
| Caption =
| Teams = 9
| Arena = Alltel Arena
| City = North Little Rock, AR
| Champions = Louisiana–Lafayette
| TitleCount = 3rd
| Coach = Jessie Evans
| CoachCount = 1st
| MVP = Virgil Stanescu
| MVPTeam = {{cbb link|1999|sex=men|team=South Alabama Jaguars|title=South Alabama}}
}}
{{1999–2000 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings}}
The 2000 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 4–7 at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas.{{cite web| title=1999–00 Sun Belt Conference Season Summary| work =sports-reference.com| publisher =Sports Reference LLC| year=2016| url =https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/sun-belt/2000.html | accessdate =April 30, 2016}}
Louisiana–Lafayette defeated top-seeded {{cbb link|1999|sex=men|team=South Alabama Jaguars|title=South Alabama}} in the championship game, 51–50, to win their third Sun Belt men's basketball tournament.
The Ragin' Cajuns, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 2000 NCAA tournament. No other Sun Belt members earned bids to the tournament.
Format
The Sun Belt added one team, Denver, in the offseason, bringing total membership up to nine.
The tournament field also expanded, adding a preliminary first round for two of the lowest seeded teams in the conference. With all nine Sun Belt teams seeded based on regular season conference records, the ninth-seeded team, rather than entering the play-in game, was paired with the tournament's top seed directly in the quarterfinals. Instead, the seventh- and eighth-seeded teams contested the play-in game, with a chance to play the second-seeded team in the ensuing quarterfinal round.
Bracket
{{4RoundBracket-Byes
| RD1 = First round
Saturday, March 4
| RD2 = Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 4
Sunday, March 5
| RD3 = Semifinals
Monday, March 6
| RD4 = Championship
Tuesday, March 7
| boldwinner=high
| RD1-seed13=7
| RD1-team13={{cbb link|1999|sex=men|team=New Orleans Privateers|title=New Orleans}}
| RD1-score13=67
| RD1-seed14=8
| RD1-team14={{cbb link|1999|sex=men|team=Denver Pioneers|title=Denver}}
| RD1-score14=65
| RD2-seed01=1
| RD2-team01={{cbb link|1999|sex=men|team=South Alabama Jaguars|title=South Alabama}}
| RD2-score01=74
| RD2-seed02=9
| RD2-team02={{cbb link|1999|sex=men|team=Little Rock Trojans|title=Arkansas–Little Rock}}
| RD2-score02=58
| RD2-seed03=5
| RD2-team03={{cbb link|1999|sex=none|team=Western Kentucky Hilltoppers|title=Western Kentucky}}
| RD2-score03=79
| RD2-seed04=4
| RD2-team04={{cbb link|1999|sex=men|team=FIU Golden Panthers|title=Florida International}}
| RD2-score04=60
| RD2-seed05=3
| RD2-team05={{cbb link|1999|sex=none|team=Louisiana Tech Bulldogs|title=Louisiana Tech}}
| RD2-score05=84
| RD2-seed06=6
| RD2-team06={{cbb link|1999|sex=men|team=Arkansas State Red Wolves|title=Arkansas State}}
| RD2-score06=77
| RD2-seed07=7
| RD2-team07=New Orleans
| RD2-score07=35
| RD2-seed08=2
| RD2-team08=Louisiana–Lafayette
| RD2-score08=55
| RD3-seed01=1
| RD3-team01=South Alabama
| RD3-score01=64
| RD3-seed02=5
| RD3-team02=Western Kentucky
| RD3-score02=61
| RD3-seed03=3
| RD3-team03=Louisiana Tech
| RD3-score03=58
| RD3-seed04=2
| RD3-team04=Louisiana–Lafayette
| RD3-score04=73
| RD4-seed01=1
| RD4-team01=South Alabama
| RD4-score01=50
| RD4-seed02=2
| RD4-team02=Louisiana–Lafayette
| RD4-score02=51
}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament navbox}}
{{2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament navbox}}
Category:Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament