Men's Basketball | 3/7/2016 3:58:00 PM

Sun Belt Championship Central

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern men's basketball team held a media day in Hanner Fieldhouse Monday in advance of their trip to the Sun Belt Conference Championship this week. 

Members of the media had opportunities to talk to select Georgia Southern student-athletes as well as head coach Mark Byington. The Eagles are set to leave for New Orleans Tuesday following an afternoon practice session. Georgia Southern is scheduled to visit Greene Charter Elementary School in New Orleans Wednesday morning and practice in the afternoon.

The fifth-seeded Eagles open the tournament against eighth-seeded South Alabama Thursday at 6 p.m. ET in Lakefront Arena, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

South Alabama owns an 8-3 edge in the all-time series and swept the Eagles this season. The teams have never met in a conference tournament. The nation's youngest team, Georgia Southern was picked 10th in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll and started league play 1-4 before winning nine of their next 15 to finish fifth.  

"To finish fifth shows these guys are willing to learn, willing to fight and wiling to get better so I'm proud of what they did to get to this point," said Byington. "Now, I want to see what we can do in a tournament. Tournaments are different - different style of game, different style of basketball. We have to adjust to it. But I really, really like this group. They are fun to coach, and they have gotten a lot better from the beginning until the end. We have to jump up another step and play some good tournament basketball."

Students can get free admission to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament by showing their valid school ID at the ticket window.

Ticket booklets are available for $99, and Eagle fans can purchase their tickets to follow the Eagles to New Orleans through the Georgia Southern Athletics Ticket Office online at GSEagles.com/Tickets, by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or visiting the Cowart Building adjacent to Paulson Stadium. By purchasing through the Georgia Southern Athletics Ticket Office, fans can guarantee a seat behind the team bench area. Tournament ticket booklet give fans a chance to see every game in the tournament, which runs from March 10-13 at the Lakefront Center in The Big Easy.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.