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Georgia Southern University Athletics

Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Travel to No. 7/6 Duke

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Shawn O'Connell
Shawn O'Connell and the Eagles travel to Duke Tuesday.

Men's Basketball | 12/14/2015 2:29:00 PM

Georgia Southern (3-4) at No. 7/6 Duke (8-1)
Dec. 15 - Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) – 7 p.m.
Television:
ESPN2 (Bob Picozzi and LaPhonso Ellis)
Live VideoLive AudioLive Stats
Radio: 103.7 WBMZ-FM (Statesboro/Metter/Swainsboro), 102.1 WZAT-FM (Savannah), 1370 WLOP-AM (Jesup)
Series: GS trails 2-0, L2
Last meeting: 11/11/08, L 54-97 (away)
Probable Starters:
#0 Montae Glenn
#1 Devonte Boykins
#2 Mike Hughes
#3 Ike Smith
#4 Tookie Brown

Georgia Southern Information:
[Stats] [Roster] [Schedule] [@GSAthletics_MBB] [Game Notes (PDF)]

Duke Information:
[Stats] [Roster] [Schedule] [@Duke_MBB]

Layup Line
• After 12 days off for exams, Georgia Southern travels to No. 7/6 Duke for a 7 p.m. contest.
• The game will be televised live on ESPN2 with Bob Picozzi and LaPhonso Ellis calling the action.
• The Eagles have not faced a ranked opponent since a contest at No. 8/5 Duke Nov. 11, 2008. The Blue Devils topped the Eagles 97-54 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• The game at Duke caps a stretch in which Georgia Southern opened the campaign with six of its first eight games on the road.
•  Georgia Southern is coming off a 76-67 loss at Savannah State Dec. 2. The Eagles are 1-4 away from home this season.
• With 11-of-12 scholarship student-athletes who are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores (92 percent), Georgia Southern has the highest percentage of underclassmen on its current roster of the 345 NCAA Division I squads. Liberty (91 percent), Ohio State (85 percent), Fairleigh Dickinson (85 percent) and Wyoming (80 percent) round out the top-5.
• Georgia Southern lost 76 percent of its scoring and 72 percent of its rebounding from last season.
• The Eagles were picked 10th in the Preseason Sun Belt Conference Coaches Poll.
• Duke enters the contest on a six-game win streak and is coming off an 82-59 home win over Buffalo Dec. 5.
• The Blue Devils are 6-0 at home this season. 
• Duke is 253-3 in its last 256 non-conference games in Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the Blue Devils have won 121 consecutive non-conference home games, a streak that started in 2000.
The Series
• This is the third meeting between the two teams, and Duke leads the all-time series 2-0, with an average margin of victory of 33.5 points a game.
• The Blue Devils topped Georgia Southern 78-42 at home Nov. 13, 2006, and defeated the Eagles 97-54 Nov. 11, 2008, in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Ranked Opponents
• Georgia Southern is 1-10 against ranked opponents in its Division I era (since 1972) and 0-7 on the road.
• The Eagles' last contest against a ranked opponent was at No. 8/5 Duke in 2008.
• Georgia Southern's lone win was an 83-67 decision over No. 18 Southern Illinois in 1976 at home.
• Results vs. Ranked Opponents
11/11/08 - at No. 8/5 Duke - L, 54-97
11/13/06 - at No. 12/10 Duke - L, 48-72
12/18/99 - at No. 23 Oklahoma - L, 63-102
11/25/97 - at No. 22 Georgia - L, 74-96
12/18/93 - at No. 11 Purdue - L, 59-97
12/12/92 - at No. 19 Cincinnati - L, 57-91
3/20/92 - vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State - L, 73-100 (NCAA)
3/13/87 - vs. No. 10 Syracuse - L, 73-79 (NCAA)
12/29/86 - vs. No. 16 Temple - L, 61-80 (neutral)
12/20/76 - No. 18 Southern Illinois - W, 83-67
12/4/72 - at No. 8 NC State - L, 100-144

A Son of Duke
• Redshirt freshman Shawn O'Connell's father, Dave, played at Duke from 1973-76. He tallied 183 points and 78 rebounds in 64 career contests.

Quick Hitters
Devonte Boykins has been named one of 154 nominees for the NABC AllState Insurance Good Works Team. 
• The Eagles are averaging 85.0 points a game this season and have scored 80-plus points in four games, including three of their last four. Georgia Southern scored 80-plus points in just six contests last year.
• Eleven different Eagles have scored 10 or more points in a game this season.
• Georgia Southern is 15-2 in Hanner Fieldhouse in its last 17 contests there. The Eagles have just two contests in Hanner for the rest of the calendar year - vs. Winthrop Dec. 19 and Stetson Dec. 22.
• Georgia Southern's 21 steals against Bob Jones (11/30) was one shy of the school record set against Little Rock in 1981 and tied against The Citadel in 2004.
• After not playing an SEC opponent since a 78-75 loss to Auburn Dec. 30, 2011, the Eagles have faced two this season. Georgia Southern fell 82-72 at Ole Miss Nov. 16 and 92-62 at Auburn Nov. 20.
• Georgia Southern's 116 points in a 116-49 season-opening win over Webber International Nov. 13 were tied for the 16th most all-time and the most since a 116-73 neutral site win over UC Davis Nov. 12, 2006, which was the 2006-07 season opener.
• The Eagles' 40 3-point attempts tied for the second-the most in school history (West Georgia, 1/2/1992).

Tar Heel State Ties
• Four Eagles hail from North Carolina. 
• Sophomores Mike Hughes and Coye Simmons are from Winston-Salem, N.C., and played at Winston-Salem Prep.
• Brothers Devonte and Devince Boykins are from Forest City, N.C., and played at East Rutherford High School.

Season Tickets
• Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at GSEagles.com/tickets. Season ticket options are available for both general admission and reserved seating. Fans can enjoy chair-back seats in the reserved sections for $90 a season ticket for either men's or women's basketball. Alternatively, general admission season tickets are $65 and are located behind the baskets on bleachers. A combo package is also available for $120 and includes both men's and women's basketball contests.

Boarding the Mothership
• Twelve Georgia Southern games will be broadcast on the ESPN family of Networks this season.
• Games at No. 4 Duke (12/15) and Georgia State (2/23) will air on ESPN2. 
• Seven Sun Belt contests will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and the Eagles' game at USC Upstate Nov. 27 was shown on ESPN3.
• The matchups at Ole Miss and Auburn were shown on the SEC Network +.

Next Up
• Georgia Southern finishes its non-conference schedule with a pair of home contests, starting Dec. 19 against Winthrop.
• The Eagles will play host to Stetson Dec. 22 before opening conference play at Texas State Dec. 30.

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, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.

 
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Players Mentioned

Devonte Boykins

#1 Devonte Boykins

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Mike Hughes

#2 Mike Hughes

G
6' 3"
Sophomore
Shawn O

#11 Shawn O'Connell

F
6' 8"
Redshirt Freshman
Coye Simmons

#14 Coye Simmons

F
6' 8"
Sophomore
Tookie Brown

#4 Tookie Brown

G
5' 11"
Freshman
Devince Boykins

#5 Devince Boykins

G
6' 4"
Redshirt Senior
Ike Smith

#3 Ike Smith

G
6' 4"
Freshman
Montae Glenn

#0 Montae Glenn

F
6' 8"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Devonte Boykins

#1 Devonte Boykins

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Mike Hughes

#2 Mike Hughes

6' 3"
Sophomore
G
Shawn O

#11 Shawn O'Connell

6' 8"
Redshirt Freshman
F
Coye Simmons

#14 Coye Simmons

6' 8"
Sophomore
F
Tookie Brown

#4 Tookie Brown

5' 11"
Freshman
G
Devince Boykins

#5 Devince Boykins

6' 4"
Redshirt Senior
G
Ike Smith

#3 Ike Smith

6' 4"
Freshman
G
Montae Glenn

#0 Montae Glenn

6' 8"
Freshman
F