Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Continue Voyage at CSU Bakersfield

The game tips off at 5 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN3.

Georgia Southern (8-2) vs. CSU Bakersfield (6-6) Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017 - Icardo Center (3,800) – 5 p.m. ET Series: GS leads 1-0, W1 Last Meeting: 11/13/17, W 77-53 (Hanner) TV: ESPN3 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	CSU Bakersfield
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 continues a six-game road trip at CSU Bakersfield Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET, and the game will air live on ESPN3.
• The contest is part of a four-game road stretch before Christmas that will encompass 14 days, seven cities and 6,057 miles. The Eagles also play Kennesaw State (Dec. 19) and ETSU (Dec. 22) during the stretch, and GS opens Sun Belt Conference play at defending champion Troy (Dec. 29) after Christmas, followed by a trip to South Alabama (Dec. 31).
• The last time the Eagles played six straight true road games was December of 1963.
• The last time GS played in California was a 91-70 loss at San Francisco Dec. 16, 1980, and the Eagles have never won a game in California. The last time the Eagles played on the West Coast was a 61-42 setback at Washington State Nov. 24, 2004.
• This is the second meeting against CSU Bakersfield this season. GS topped the Roadrunners 77-53 in its home opener Nov. 13.
• The Eagles are off to their best start since they went 9-2 to begin the 1992-93 season.
• GS is 3-2 in its last five, has won its last three and is coming off a 74-51 road win over George Mason Tuesday night. The Eagles are 2-1 in true road games and 4-2 away from home.
• As of Dec. 11, the Eagles are ranked 15th in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top-25. Gonzaga is ranked first, UTA is ranked ninth, Louisiana is 10th, Georgia State is receiving votes, Towson is eighth and Missouri State is 15th.
• Through games Dec. 14, Georgia Southern's NCAA RPI is 35, the highest of any team in the Sun Belt. The Eagles' strength of schedule ranks 105th.
• CSU Bakersfield is 2-3 in its last five, has won its last two and is coming off a 66-55 home win over Idaho last Saturday.
• The Roadrunners are 29-3 at home in the last three seasons and 3-1 this season.
• CSU Bakersfield was picked fourth in the WAC Preseason Media Poll. The coaches predicted a third-place finish for the Roadrunners, just two points behind New Mexico State.
• Redshirt junior Damiyne Durham was selected Preseason First Team All-WAC in the coaches' poll while senior Shon Briggs and redshirt senior Brent Wrapp earned second-team nods.

Last Time vs. CSU Bakersfield
• Tookie Brown and Ike Smith combined for 45 points, and Georgia Southern posted a 77-53 victory over CSU Bakersfield Monday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
• Brown scored 24 and missed just two shots on the night as the junior went 7-of-8 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line for the Eagles. Smith netted 21 points and added seven rebounds, and Montae Glenn tallied nine points and seven boards.
• Fallou Ndoye tallied 13 points and six rebounds to lead CSU Bakersfield. Damiyne Durham added 12 points and six boards, and Rickey Holden chipped in nine points, six rebounds and five assists.
• Glenn scored five points, and Smith added a pair of triples as GS opened the contest with a 15-3 run. The Eagles held the Roadrunners to 1-of-7 from the field to start the game, and CSU Bakersfield made just three of its first 16 shots. The Eagles never led by less than six points for the rest of the game, and the margin grew to 17 at the break.

Team Storylines
• Five of GS's 10 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 third in the nation in offensive rebounds, and Montae Glenn ranks third in the country. The Eagles are third in the SBC in rebounding, and their rebound average of 41.7 is the highest since the 1978-79 season and a seven rebound per game improvement from last year.
• 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 151st career game today and his 140th 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 55-11 in games when leading at half and 64-6 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' 74-51 win at George Mason Dec. 12 was the Eagles' largest margin of victory on the road since an 86-61 win at Furman in 2006.
• GS is averaging 83.1 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 second 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.
• Georgia Southern's NCAA RPI of 122 in 2017 was the second-highest in the last 27 seasons (111 in 2015).
• Georgia Southern made its seventh postseason appearance in the Division I era and first since 2006, as the Eagles played in the College Basketball Invitational last year.

In-Season Honors
• Ike Smith won Sun Belt Player of the Week Nov. 14, after hitting the game-winning free throws with 3.9 seconds left in the Eagles' 85-83 season-opening win at Wake Forest. He also scored his 1,000th career point with his first bucket of the night and finished with 18 points and two rebounds. Smith capped the week by tallying 21 points and seven rebounds against CSU Bakersfield. It was the second time the junior has won SBC Player of the Week in his career.
• Tookie Brown won SBC Player of the Week Dec. 12, after tallying 32 points and five assists against Savannah State. It was his third career SBC Player of the Week honor.

Next Up
• The Eagles make the cross-country swing to Kennesaw State for a Tuesday contest. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will air live on ESPN3.

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