Men's Basketball 12/28/2017 11:32:00 AM Marc Gignac

Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Open SBC Schedule at Troy

The game tips off at 8:15 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN3.

Georgia Southern (9-4, 0-0) vs. Troy (6-7, 0-0) Friday, Dec. 29, 2017 - Trojan Arena (5,200) – 8:15 p.m. ET Series: GS leads 13-8, L2 Last Meeting: 3/10/17, L 70-90 (neutral) 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	Troy
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 opens its fourth season in the Sun Belt Conference at defending champion Troy Dec. 29. The game will tip off at 8:15 p.m. ET and air on ESPN3.
• The Eagles capped the non-conference portion of their schedule with four straight games on the road, a trip that encompassed a 14 days, 11 cities and 7,500 miles. The Eagles played at George Mason (Dec. 12), CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 16), Kennesaw State (Dec. 19) and ETSU (Dec. 22). The Eagles travel to South Alabama Dec. 31, making it a total of six in a row on the road.
• The last time the Eagles played six straight true road games was December of 1963. GS is 2-2 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.
• Georgia Southern is 2-2 in conference openers under Byington and 1-2 in the Sun Belt. The Eagles have opened conference play on the road in three of their four years in the league.
• GS is 2-6 in its last eight games against league competition after posting a 9-2 mark in its first 11 SBC contests last season.
• GS is 3-2 in its last five and is coming off a 79-59 loss at ETSU Dec. 22. The Eagles are 3-3 in true road games and 5-4 away from home.
• The last time the Eagles won nine non-conference games was in the 2005-06 season.
• As of Dec. 26, the Eagles are ranked 19th in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top-25. Gonzaga is ranked first, UTA is ranked eighth, Louisiana is 11th, Towson is 12th and Missouri State is 13th. Georgia State and Bradley are receiving votes.
• Troy is 1-4 in its last five and coming off an 80-67 home win over Milligan Dec. 21.
• The Trojans were picked third in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll, while Jordon Varnado and Wesley Person were named preseason all-conference.
• Person ranks second in the Sun Belt in scoring with 21.5 points a game, while Varnado averages 19 points and 7.3 rebounds but has missed the last seven contests with a foot injury.

The Series vs. Troy
• Georgia Southern leads the all-time series, which began in 1932, 13-8, but has lost the last two.
• Seven of the last eight meetings have been decided by seven points or less.
• Troy leads the series 4-3 since the Eagles joined the Sun Belt in 2014 and is 4-2 at home against the Eagles.
• Eight of the Eagles' wins were recorded before 1964 as the teams played 13 times between 1932 and 1964.
• The series was renewed Dec. 9, 1991 with the Eagles earning a 102-94 home win.

Team Storylines
• Six of GS's 13 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 11th 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 40.0 is the highest since the 2001-02 season and a 5.8 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 eighth 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 154th career game today and his 143rd 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 78.5 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 fourth in turnovers forced.
• GS ranks fourth 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 2017 College Basketball Invitational.
• 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.
• Since joining the Sun Belt in 2014, 29 Georgia Southern games against Sun Belt schools have been decided by five points or less, and the Eagles are 19-10.
• The Eagles are 26-5 in Sun Belt games when leading at halftime. GS is 27-1 when leading with five minutes to go.
• GS has a combined record of 34-17 in Sun Belt games played in January and February since joining the league in 2014-15.

Next Up
• The Eagles cap a six-game road trip at South Alabama Dec. 31. Tipoff is set for 4:05 p.m. ET.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Georgia Southern University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned