Men's Basketball | 3/21/2016 1:31:00 PM

For the second-straight season, Georgia Southern surpassed the predictions of the Sun Belt's preseason prognosticators. Picked 10th in the conference with the youngest roster in the country, the Eagles finished fifth and advanced to the league tournament for the second consecutive year. Georgia Southern won nine of 15 after starting conference play 1-4. Below is a look back at the 2015-16 season.

Postseason Honors
Tookie Brown was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and first-team all-league, and Mike Hughes earned third-team All-Sun Belt Honors. The duo were selected in a vote by the league's head coaches and a panel of media members. Brown is the first Eagle to win conference Freshman of the Year since Lonnie Edwards in 1994 (Southern Conference by both coaches and media). Brown ranked in the top-10 in the Sun Belt in scoring (4th, 17.8 ppg), assists (7th, 3.4 apg), steals (2nd, 1.7), free-throw percentage (7th, .811) and assist/turnover ratio (6th, 1.5). He currently ranks eighth among freshmen in NCAA Division I scoring. 

Hughes averaged 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.8 assists in conference play. Hughes ranked ninth in the Sun Belt in scoring (14.9 ppg) and led the league in steals (2.1 spg). He scored 20-plus points eight times and reached double figures in the last 17 contests.

Youth Movement
Georgia Southern's seven freshmen and redshirt freshmen combined for 41.0 points a contest, the third-highest total in the country. Brown led the Eagles in scoring and set the Georgia Southern freshman scoring record with 551 points. The last time a freshman led Georgia Southern in scoring was the 1999-2000 season, when the school's all-time scoring leader, Julius Jenkins, led the Eagles with 15.5 points a game. Brown became the first freshman in school history to score 30-plus points in a game (34 at App St., 1/25) and scored 20-plus points in 10 contests. He teamed with Ike Smith to form the third-highest scoring freshman duo in the country. He and Ike Smith (11.7 ppg) combine to average 29.5 points a game. Rice's Marcus Evans and Marquez Letcher-Ellis (31.6) led the nation, and Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley of Florida State (31.5 ppg) were second. Duke's Brandon Ingram and Luke Kennard (28.5) ranked fourth.

3 > 2
Georgia Southern set new school records with 3-pointers made (282) and attempted (834) in a season. The Eagles made 10 or more triples in a contest 13 times, hitting nine from long distance on four more occasions. Georgia Southern averaged 26.9 (21st nationally) attempts and 9.1 makes (27th nationally) a game. 
Three Eagles were in the top-15 in the Sun Belt in 3-pointers made per game - Mike Hughes (4th, 2.2), Jake Allsmiller (6th, 2.1) and Tookie Brown (13th, 1.7).

Taking care of the rock
Georgia Southern led the Sun Belt and ranked 13th in the country in turnover margin (+3.4). The Eagles recorded less than 10 turnovers in 10 games and averaged 11.6 per game.

Oceans 2
Mike Hughes led the Sun Belt in steals with 2.1 a game, and Tookie Brown was third with 1.6 an outing. 

Protecting the Hanner
The Eagles posted a 10-4 record in Hanner Fieldhouse. Georgia Southern is 22-6 in Hanner Fieldhouse in its last 28 contests there and 30-12 in the building under Mark Byington.

Boarding the Mothership
Thirteen Georgia Southern games were broadcast on the ESPN family of Networks this season. Games at Duke (12/15) and vs. Georgia State at home (2/23) aired on ESPN2. Eight Sun Belt contests were 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 +. The Eagles have played on ESPN2 six times, and four of those broadcasts have been in Hanner Fieldhouse.

More Storylines
• Tookie Brown finished fourth in the league in scoring (17.8), Mike Hughes was ninth (14.9) and Ike Smith was 20th (11.7). Coye Simmons was 12th in rebounding (5.5).
• Mark Byington's 51 wins in his first three seasons is the best of any coach at Georgia Southern in the modern era. Frank Kearns tallied 48 wins in his first three campaigns (1981-84). J.B. Scearce logged 66 wins from 1947-1950.
• Since joining the Sun Belt in 2014, 19 Georgia Southern games against Sun Belt schools have been decided by five points or less, and the Eagles are 12-7.
• The Eagles averaged 75.9 points a game and scored 80-plus points in 10 games and 100-plus in three contests. 
• Eleven different Eagles scored 10 or more points in a game this season.
• Tookie Brown, Ike Smith and Mike Hughes all scored 20-plus points in the win over UT Arlington Feb. 4. The last time three Eagles scored 20-plus points in a game was Jan. 16, 2014, an 88-81 overtime over Furman in Hanner Fieldhouse. Angel Matias (21), Jelani Hewitt (21) and Tre Bussey (26) all scored 20-plus points.
• Georgia Southern's 11 blocked shots against UT Arlington Feb. 4 were one shy of the school record, set against Texas San Antonio in 1989.
• The Eagles' 101-100 win over Appalachian State Jan. 25 was their first win when allowing 100 points since a 112-104 triumph over Old Dominion Jan. 7, 1978. It was just the third time Georgia Southern has won a game when conceding 100 points (135-109 vs. Piedmont, 2/24/1951 and 110-106 vs. Samford, 1/20/1975). It was the first time the Eagles put up 100 points against a Division I opponent since a 116-73 victory over UC Davis Nov. 12, 2006.
• Georgia Southern played its first ranked opponent since 2008 when the Eagles traveled to No. 7/6 Duke Dec. 15. Their last game against a ranked opponent was also at Duke Nov. 11, 2008.
• The Eagles played six of their first eight games on the road, a stretch that included contests at Ole Miss, Auburn and No. 6 Duke.

What Goes Around, Comes Around
Headed into the 2015-16 season, Georgia Southern had lost 76 percent of its scoring and 72 percent of its rebounding from the previous year. That script will be flipped in 2016-17. Georgia Southern returns all five starters and 13 lettermen. Ninety-four percent of the Eagles' scoring and rebounding will be back in uniform next season, and as it stands right now, walk-on James Holder will be the team's lone senior.

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