Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Start Road Trip at George Mason

The Eagles and Patriots tip off at 7 p.m.

Georgia Southern (7-2) vs. George Mason (5-5) Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017 - EagleBank Arena (7,860) – 7 p.m. Series: GS leads 1-0, W1 Last Meeting: 12/9/88, W 76-58 (neutral) Radio: GS Sports Network (pregame show starts a half hour before tipoff) - WMCD 107.3 FM (Statesboro), 630 AM WBMQ (Savannah), 1370 AM WLOP (Jesup)
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Georgia Southern	George Mason
Roster	Roster
Stats	Stats
Schedule	Schedule

Probable GS Starters:
#0 Montae Glenn
#2 Mike Hughes
#4 Tookie Brown
#10 Jake Allsmiller
#24 David-Lee Jones Jr.

Setting the Scene
• Georgia Southern opens a six-game road trip at George Mason Tuesday, and tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
• The stretch starts with a four-game road trip before Christmas that will encompass 14 days, seven cities and 6,057 miles. The Eagles also play CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 16), Kennesaw State (Dec. 19) and ETSU (Dec. 22) during the stretch, and GS opens Sun Belt Conference play at defending champion Troy (Dec. 29), followed by a trip to South Alabama (Dec. 31).
• The last time the Eagles played six straight true road games was December of 1963.
• This will be the second meeting between George Mason and Georgia Southern on the hardwood. The Eagles won the first meeting 76-58 Dec. 9, 1988, in the Heritage Drake Classic in Des Moines, Iowa.
• It's Georgia Southern's first game in Virginia since an 86-69 loss at Old Dominion Nov. 23, 2013.
• GS has one victory over an Atlantic 10 opponent, a 67-64 decision over UMass at the Hatter Classic in DeLand, Fla., Dec. 10, 1983. The Eagles last played an A-10 opponent Nov. 13, 2012, a 66-53 loss at Charlotte in their last year in the league.
• The Eagles are off to their best start since they went 7-2 to begin the 2014 season. GS has not started 8-2 since the 1992-93 season when it started 9-2.
• GS is 3-2 in its last five, has won its last two and is coming off a 102-91 home win over Savannah State Saturday. The Eagles are 1-1 in true road games and 3-2 away from home.
• As of Dec. 4, the Eagles are ranked 17th in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top-25. Gonzaga is ranked first, UTA is ranked second, Louisiana is 11th, Georgia State is 22nd, Towson is 14th and Missouri State is 15th.
• Through games Dec. 10, Georgia Southern's NCAA RPI is 45, the highest of any team in the Sun Belt. The Eagles' strength of schedule ranks 113th.
• George Mason is 2-3 in its last five and coming off a 77-65 win over North Carolina Central Saturday in EagleBank Arena. The Patriots are 4-1 at home with the lone loss coming to rival William & Mary Dec. 6.
• The Patriots are the 20th-youngest team in the nation this season, according to Ken Pomeroy's experience stat (1.02 years/player).
• Mason returns three starters from a 2016-17 team that recorded
the 13th 20-win season in program annals, recording a 20-14 mark on the year and ranking as one of the nation's 20 most improved teams last season. The Patriots are were picked 10th in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll.
• The contest against Georgia Southern is on of the eight non-league games Mason plays at EagleBank Arena. It's the most non-league home contests for the program since 1983-84.

Team Storylines
• Five of GS's nine games have been decided by five points or less, and four have been one-possession games. GS started 5-0 for the first time since the 1991-92 season.
• Georgia Southern ranks first in the nation in offensive rebounds, and Montae Glenn ranks second in the country. The Eagles are third in the SBC in rebounding.
• Georgia Southern's top-3 seasons in 3-pointers made and attempted have all come during Mark Byington's tenure. GS ranks fourth in the SBC in 3-pointers made and third in attempts. GS has made 10-plus triples in a game five times this season.
• Mark Byington is coaching in his 150th career game today and his 139th at Georgia Southern. His 51 wins in his first three seasons at Georgia Southern were the best of any coach in the modern era. He posted a 7-4 record at College of Charleston in 2012, filling in as the interim coach for Bobby Cremins.
• Under Mark Byington, Georgia Southern is 54-11 in games when leading at half and 63-6 when leading with five minutes to go.
• GS returned the Sun Belt's top two scorers in juniors Ike Smith (19.6 ppg) and Tookie Brown (17.1 ppg). The 2017 first-team All-Sun Belt selections are the fourth-highest scoring returning duo in the country. They were the third-highest freshman scoring duo in the country in 2015-16 (1-Rice's Marcus Evans and Marquez Letcher-Ellis, 2- FSU's Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley).
• The Eagles' 85-83 victory at Wake Forest was their first over an ACC opponent since topping Virginia Tech 83-78 on the road in 2012. Byington was an assistant coach for the Hokies at the time.
• Georgia Southern's 120 points against Bluefield State were the most in a game since 1974.
• The Eagles averaged 34 rebounds a game last season and are averaging 42.2 a game this season.
• GS is averaging 84.1 points a game, the most since the 1991-92 season. The Eagles have scored over 80 points four times, over 90 three times and over 100 twice.
• Georgia Southern ranks third in the SBC in fewest turnovers, second in turnover margin and third in turnovers forced.
• GS ranks second in the SBC in free throws made and second in free throws attempted.

Next Up
• The Eagles' voyage continues with the second end of a home-and-home series at CSU Baskersfield Dec. 16.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides current information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, which is fully responsive across all mobile devices. Information on Eagle athletics can also be found through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics and Instagram.com/GSAthletics. To purchase tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.

In order to expedite entry and provide a safe environment for all patrons and participants, Georgia Southern Athletics has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all ticketed sporting events, effective Aug. 1, 2017. Fans can find the complete policy as well as an FAQ section at GSEagles.com/ClearBag.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Jake Allsmiller: G; 6' 5"; Senior

#4 Tookie Brown: G; 5' 11"; Junior

#0 Montae Glenn: F; 6' 8"; Junior

#2 Mike Hughes: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#3 Ike Smith: G; 6' 4"; Junior

#24 David-Lee Jones Jr.: G; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#10 Jake Allsmiller
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G

#4 Tookie Brown
: 5' 11"; Junior
: G

#0 Montae Glenn
: 6' 8"; Junior
: F

#2 Mike Hughes
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#3 Ike Smith
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

#24 David-Lee Jones Jr.
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: G

Georgia Southern University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned