Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Finish Odyssey at ETSU

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

Georgia Southern (9-3) vs. ETSU (7-4) Friday, Dec. 22, 2017 - Freedom Hall (6,500) – 7 p.m. Series: GS leads 18-12, W1 Last Meeting: 2/26/05, W 97-91 (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	ETSU
Roster	Roster
Stats	Stats
Schedule	Schedule

Probable GS Starters:
#0 Montae Glenn
#2 Mike Hughes
#4 Tookie Brown
#10 Jake Allsmiller
#13 Quan Jackson

Setting the Scene
• Georgia Southern plays its final non-conference game of the season when the Eagles face ETSU Friday. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and air on ESPN3.
• The contest caps a four-game road stretch before Christmas encompassing 14 days, seven cities and 6,057 miles. The Eagles have played at George Mason (Dec. 12), CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 16) and Kennesaw State (Dec. 19) 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), making it six in a row on the road.
• The last time the Eagles played six straight true road games was December of 1963. GS is 2-1 so far; the Eagles were 1-5 in 1963.
• The Eagles are off to their best start since they went 11-3 in 2014-15.
• GS is 4-1 in its last five and is coming off a 78-69 win at Kennesaw State Tuesday. The Eagles are 3-2 in true road games and 5-3 away from home.
• The last time the Eagles won nine non-conference games was in the 2005-06 season. The last time GS had double-digit non-conference wins was when they won 12 in 1984-85.
• As of Dec. 18, the Eagles are ranked 15th in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top-25. Gonzaga is ranked first, UTA is ranked eighth, Louisiana is ninth, Georgia State is receiving votes, Towson is fourth and Missouri State is 16th.
• Through games Dec. 19, Georgia Southern's NCAA RPI is 60, the highest of any team in the Sun Belt. UTA is 58th.
• ETSU is 4-1 in its last five with the lone loss coming at No. 10 Xavier last Saturday, a 68-66 setback.
• The Bucs are 4-1 at home with the lone loss coming against Troy Nov. 22. The Trojans won the contest 73-65.
• ETSU senior guard Desonta Bradford was selected to the Preseason All-Southern Conference team by the league's coaches, and the Buccaneers, who are the defending conference champions, were picked to finish fourth in both the coaches and media polls. The Bucs were 27-8 overall and 14-4 in the league last season.

The Series vs. ETSU
• Georgia Southern leads the all-time series, which began in 1956, 18-12.
• The teams have not met since 2005, when they were both members of the Southern Conference. The Eagles won the last meeting 97-91 at home Feb. 26, 2005. It was the last game of the regular season for both squads.
• The Eagles are 2-9 all-time at ETSU and have lost the last three. GS's last victory at ETSU was a 65-62 decision Feb. 2, 1998.
• GS owned a 9-6 record against the Bucs in SoCon games.

Team Storylines
• Six of GS's 12 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 sixth in the country. The Eagles are third in the SBC in rebounding, and their rebound average of 40.9 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 fifth 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 153rd career game today and his 142nd 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 56-12 in games when leading at half and 65-6 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 80.2 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 third in the SBC in fewest turnovers, second in turnover margin and third in turnovers forced.
• GS ranks third 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.

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 62 points, 25 rebounds and 15 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 three 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 178 points and three 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 open their Sun Belt Conference schedule at defending champion Troy Dec. 29. Tipoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET and will air 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

#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

#13 Quan Jackson: G; 6' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

#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

#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

#13 Quan Jackson
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

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

Georgia Southern University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned