Troy basketball is currently playing at a level rarely seen since it joined the Sun Belt Conference nearly 20 years ago.

The Trojans are 17-8 overall and 10-2 in the Sun Belt Conference, tied for first with six regular-season games remaining. Troy finishes off the home portion of its schedule with a two-game stand at Trojan Arena beginning tonight against Arkansas State (11-14, 6-6).

Troy has won six straight since suffering back-to-back road losses at South Alabama and Southern Miss by a combined five points in mid-January, their only two conference defeats of the season. The Trojans also hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with Appalachian State (which is also 10-2), having beaten the Mountaineers 66-62 on Jan. 6.

“To be in a position where you’re at the top of the standings is a credit to the guys,” Troy coach Scott Cross said. “They’ve been bought in; they’ve been doing the things that we ask them to do. They’ve been playing really, really tough and physical, doing a great job rebounding the basketball, especially on the offensive end. We’ve been great creating turnovers and steals, which lead to easy baskets. And then we’ve been pretty efficient offensively.

“To be in this position, we’re obviously very, very thankful for that. But we’re just gonna take it one game at a time. That’s the only way that you can win a championship, is by winning that game that’s in front of you. So that’s where our focus is.”

Though there is work remaining to be done, Troy is a solid bet to clinch one of the top four seeds and a double bye for next month’s Sun Belt tournament. The Trojans have been the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament just once since joining the Sun Belt, doing so in 2010.

Troy won the Sun Belt East Division that season, but lost to West champion North Texas in the title game. It’s been mostly a trip through the basketball wilderness since then, though the Trojans did win the Sun Belt tournament as a No. 6 seed under Phil Cunningham in 2017 before losing to Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Cross is in fifth year at Troy, having posted back-to-back 20-win seasons the last two years after losing records in his first two. This season’s Trojans are well on their way to eclipsing the 20-win mark for the third straight year, bolstered by a 14-1 home record.

“There’s a lot of things that factor into that, I think,” Cross said. “First, I definitely want to give credit to the fans. Our last game, they were yelling and screaming and just making our guys get in their stance a little bit and I think that makes a difference in college basketball. I also think the crowd influences the officials at times. … I think our team is starting to figure out how to win on the road as well, and that’s going to make a big difference for us.”

As has been Cross’ style in recent years, the Trojans again feature a deep roster this season. At least 10 players average at least 11 minutes per game, and only one more than 25.

Senior guards Christyon Eugene and Aamer Muhammad once again are among the top players on the team, combining to average more than 26 points per game. But the Trojans have gotten a boost this season from the arrival of junior-college transfer Tayton Conerway and freshmen Myles Rigsby and Thomas Dowd, the former two of whom both average better than 11 points per game, with the latter then team’s leading rebounder.

“Thomas Dowd, he’s been really good, crashing offensive boards every time the shot goes up,” Cross said. “He’s relentless going in there and whether he gets the rebound or not, he wears down the opponents and just gives us an added grit and toughness to our basketball team. Miles Rigsby’s probably playing as good as any player in the Sun Belt right now. He’s almost unstoppable off of the drive, but he’s shooting the three extremely well as well and shooting a phenomenal percentage from the free throw line.”

Tip-off Thursday night vs. Arkansas State is set for 7:30 p.m. The Trojans also host Louisiana-Monroe at 4 p.m.

• The Troy men’s games are both part of doubleheaders with the women’s team, which hosts Texas State at 5:15 p.m. Thursday and ULM at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Trojans are currently 12-10 overall and 9-3 in the Sun Belt, tied for second with James Madison with six games left. Marshall currently tops the league standings with an 11-1 mark.

Troy won three consecutive Sun Belt regular-season titles from 2020-22 under 11th-year coach Chanda Rigsby, who picked up her 450th career victory in last Saturday’s win over Bowling Green in the Mac-Sun Belt Challenge. Rigsby was a long-time junior-college coach in Kansas, Mississippi and Florida, reaching the NJCAA Women’s Final Four two straight years before coming to Troy.

“I’m really blessed because I’m just doing the same job I was doing at that level,” Rigsby said. “But when you get to this level, you increase your influence, you increase your opportunities. And everything is just bigger at this level.

“I didn’t start out really to get to this level. I started out just day-by-day trying to do my best and help young people and use an orange basketball to be kind of like an orange carrot you dangle in front of people who love basketball to show them how they can become their best and to use the opportunities that basketball brings to as a platform and a springboard to get them to their best.”

The weekend doubleheaders feature a number of promotions, including free admission for kids 12 and under, and a t-shirt giveaway for the first 1,000 fans at each game. The ZOOperstars will perform at halftime of Thursday’s games, while the Halftime Dogs will appear at halftime of Saturday’s games.

Saturday is “Trojan Mardi Gras,” with food for 2,000 fans provided by sponsors and local businesses, and Power T Mardi Gras beads available while supplies last. Light sticks will also be distributed to the first 2,000 fans at each game.