Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Return to the East Coast to Face Kennesaw State

The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will air on ESPN3.

Georgia Southern (8-3) vs. Kennesaw State (2-8) Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 - KSU Convocation Center (4,600) – 7 p.m. Series: GS leads 2-0, W2 Last Meeting: 12/18/13, W 73-55 (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	Kennesaw State
Roster	Roster
Stats	Stats
Schedule	Schedule

Probable GS Starters:
#0 Montae Glenn
#2 Mike Hughes
#3 Ike Smith
#4 Tookie Brown
#10 Jake Allsmiller

***Don't forget to join Georgia Southern alumni, fans and friends for a pregame social before the men's basketball game against Kennesaw State! The social, located at Mellow Mushroom (1133 Chastain Rd NW), starts at 4:30 p.m. and is a Dutch Treat. Georgia Southern guests will receive 20percent off of their meal. https://goo.gl/TS85Ne***

Setting the Scene
• Georgia Southern returns to the East Coast and the home state to take on Kennesaw State Tuesday. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and air on ESPN3.
• The contest is part of a four-game road stretch before Christmas encompassing 14 days, seven cities and 6,057 miles. The Eagles played at George Mason (Dec. 12) and CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 16) and will travel to ETSU (Dec. 22) during the stretch. 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. GS is 1-1 on the trip; the Eagles were 1-5 in 1963.
• This is the third contest between Kennesaw State and Georgia Southern, and the Eagles won the first two. The series began with a 62-46 GS win Nov. 21, 2012, at Kennesaw, and the Eagles won the return game 73-55 Dec. 18, 2013, in Hanner Fieldhouse.
• The Eagles are off to their best start since they went 8-3 in 2014-15.
• GS is 3-2 in its last five and is coming off a 55-53 loss at CSU Bakersfield Saturday afternoon. The Eagles are 2-2 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. 16, Georgia Southern's NCAA RPI is 52, the highest of any team in the Sun Belt. The Eagles' strength of schedule ranks 130th.
• Kennesaw State is 1-4 in its last five and coming off an 81-74 home win over Bethune-Cookman Saturday night.
• The Owls are 2-1 at home.
• The Owls have played Butler, Washington, Florida State and Texas Tech, and their strength of schedule ranks 47th.

Team Storylines
• Six of GS's 11 games have been decided by five points or less, and the Eagles are 3-3. Five have been one-possession games, and the Eagles are 3-2.
• Georgia Southern ranks sixth in the nation in offensive rebounds, and Montae Glenn ranks fourth in the country. The Eagles are third in the SBC in rebounding, and their rebound average of 41.4 is the highest since the 2001-02 season and a 6.7 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 152nd career game today and his 141st 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 55-12 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.
• GS started 5-0 for the first time since the 1991-92 season.
• 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 80.4 points a game, the most since the 2004-05 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.
• GS joins UTA and Louisiana as the only three teams to reach double digit wins in conference play in each of the last three seasons and has the third most league victories (36) during that time.

Talking 1K
• Ike Smith became the third active Eagle to reach 1,000 points with a jumper 1:40 into the game in the season opener at Wake Forest Nov. 10. It was the first basket of the 2017-18 season.
• Mike Hughes reached the mark in the final game against Utah Valley last season. It was the last basket of the 2016-17 campaign.
• Tookie Brown scored his 1,000th career point at Appalachian State Feb. 13, 2017. He is the first Eagle in the program's modern era to reach the mark as a sophomore. Two Eagles did it in their second seasons at Georgia Southern (Elton Nesbitt and Johnny Mills).
• Jake Allsmiller is 232 points away from 1,000.
• GS, Seton Hall (3) and St. Mary's (4) are the only three schools in the country with at least three 1,000-point scorers on the roster.
• Three Eagles reached the mark in the same season once. Nesbitt, Terry Williams and Jean Francois scored their 1,000th point in 2004-05.
• The 2004-05 trio and Jelani Hewitt, Eric Ferguson and Trent Wiedeman in 2014-15 are the only times Georgia Southern had three 1,000-point scorers on the same team (Wiedeman scored 886 points at College of Charleston before transferring to GS).

Stat Stuffers
• Mike Hughes is on track to become the first player in Georgia Southern men's basketball history to tally 1,200 career points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals. The senior needs 74 points, 31 rebounds and 17 assists.
• Jelani Hewitt (2010-15) collected 1,810 points, 499 rebounds, 340 assists and 252 steals, and Eric Ferguson (2010-15) finished with 1,482 points, 727 rebounds, 116 assists and 157 steals.
• Tookie Brown is eight assists from becoming just the fourth Eagle to reach 300 assists in his junior season, joining C.Y. Young (1989-93), Dwayne Foreman (2004-08) and Terry Williams (2001-05).
• Brown is 207 points and eight assists away from becoming the third Eagle to post 1,500 points and 300 assists, joining C.Y. Young (1,517 pts, 530 asts) and Jelani Hewitt (1,180 pts, 340 asts).

Next Up
• The Eagles cap their Christmas road trip at former Southern Conference rival ETSU Friday at 7 p.m. 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

#3 Eric Ferguson: F; 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior

#5 Jelani Hewitt: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior

#44 Trent Wiedeman: F; 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior

#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

Players Mentioned

#3 Eric Ferguson
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior
: F

#5 Jelani Hewitt
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#44 Trent Wiedeman
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior
: F

#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

Georgia Southern University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned