Posted: Saturday, March 6, 2010 10:43 am

After receiving first-round byes, the No. 3 seeded Middle Tennessee men and No. 2 seed women open Sun Belt Conference Tournament play Sunday in Hot Springs, Ark.

Midde’s women play at 2:15 p.m. Sunday against North Texas while the Raider men play at 9 p.m. against Denver, 57-50 winner over FIU Saturday night.

Middle Tennessee’s men clinched a share of the Sun Belt East Division title last Saturday night after defeating Florida Atlantic to earn the three seed in the Sun Belt Championships while the Raider women won the East Division outright, losing only once conference game this season.

Winners of the tournament receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament but the Raider women should receive a bid regardless due to their record and national ratings.

The Blue Raiders, Troy and North Texas ended the men’s conference season in a three-way tie for first. Since Troy had the best head-to-head record of the three it received the one seed in the tournament. North Texas received the two seed since it was the winner of the West Division with Middle Tennessee taking the three seed and the final bye in the tournament.

Middle Tennessee and North Texas are on the same side of the bracket but if both were to advance would not meet until the semi-finals on Monday, March 8.

If Middle Tennessee were to play North Texas, it would be the second time in three years the two teams have met in the tournament. The Mean Green put Middle Tennessee out of the tournament last season in the quarterfinals.

In the regular season, the Blue Raiders were 5-1 against their side of the bracket with two of those wins on the road. Middle Tennessee ended the season with a 7-1 road record in conference action and with 37 away victories has the most of any team in the Sun Belt since 2002-03 when Kermit Davis took the helm of Blue Raider basketball.

If the seeding favorites hold up, Middle’s women would end up playing tough Western Kentucky and ULAR on consecutive nights. The Raiders’ last loss was at ULAR.

Chip Walters will call men's action in Hot Springs, Ark., and can be heard on the Blue Raider Network as well as on goblueraiders.com.

The Middle Tennessee women's basketball team begins its quest for a sixth Sun Belt Tournament title in the last seven seasons when it faces North Texas in quarterfinal action.

The Blue Raiders enter the field as the No. 2 seed after winning the Sun Belt's East Division with a 17-1 league record. Middle Tennessee finished with a 22-5 overall mark, the seventh consecutive year of at least 20 wins.

North Texas, the No. 10 seed in the tournament, brings a 9-21 overall record, including a 5-13 Sun Belt regular-season ledger, into the contest. The Mean Green advanced to the quarterfinal round after a 61-51 win over No. 7 seed FIU Saturday.

All-American and two-time Sun Belt Player of the Year Alysha Clark leads the Blue Raider offensive attack with a national-best tying 26.9 ppg and 11.2 rpg. She has 71 career double-doubles, ranking seventh in NCAA history, to go along with 2,703 career points to place 17th all-time.

Jackie Pickel and Brandi Brown, a Second Team and First Team All-Sun Belt choice, respectively, round out a trio of Middle Tennessee players in double-figure scoring. Pickel, who also was tabbed the league's Defensive Player of the Year, pours in 14.3 ppg, while Brown adds 14.1 ppg.

Rounding out the probable starters for head coach Rick Insell's squad are senior Chelsia Lymon and junior Anne Marie Lanning. Lymon averages 9.2 ppg and Lanning chips in 7.9 ppg to the fourth-highest scoring offense in the country with 81.1 ppg.

North Texas finished the regular season fourth in the SBC's West Division under second-year head coach Shaniece Stephens.

Jasmine Godbolt, the league's Freshman of the Year, and Third Team selection Brittney James pace the Mean Green attack. James averages a team-high 13.8 ppg, while Godbolt contributes 11.8 ppg through the victory over the Golden Panthers.

The Blue Raiders lead the all-time series 10-4, including a current five-game winning streak. Middle Tennessee has topped the 100-point mark in each of the last two meetings, including a school-record 119 in this year's triumph Jan. 30 in Murfreesboro.

North Texas won the first three contests in the series, but the Blue Raiders have since taken care of business in 10 of the last 11. Insell is 5-1 against the Mean Green in his MT career, only losing in his first matchup.

Dick Palmer and Duane Hickey will have the radio call on the Blue Raider Network. The game can be heard on WMOT (89.5 FM), WBRY (96.7 FM, 1540 AM) and WGNS (100.5 FM, 101.9 FM, 1450 AM).