Men's Basketball 12/30/2017 3:40:00 PM Marc Gignac

Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Finish Road Trip at South Alabama

The Eagles look to start 2-0 in league play.

Georgia Southern (10-4, 1-0) vs. South Alabama (7-6, 1-0) Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017 - Mitchell Center (10,000) – 4:05 p.m. ET Series: GS trails 10-4, L1 Last Meeting: 1/28/17, L 66-78 (away) 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	South Alabama
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 finishes a six-game road trip with a Sun Belt Conference contest at South Alabama on New Year's Eve.
• The last time the Eagles played six straight true road games was December of 1963. GS is 3-2 so far; the Eagles were 1-5 in 1963.
• 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).
• GS has reached double-digit wins before the new year for the first time in school history. The Eagles are off to their best start since they went 11-3 in 2014-15.
• The Eagles have opened conference play on the road in three of their four years in the league. GS plays five of its first seven league contests on the road this season.
• GS is 3-6 in its last nine 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 an 86-80 win over Troy Friday night. The Eagles are 4-3 in true road games and 6-4 away from home.
• 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.
• South Alabama is 2-3 in its last five and coming off an 86-64 win over Georgia State Friday night in its Sun Belt opener.
• The Jags are 5-1 at home this season.
• South Alabama was picked ninth in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll.

Series History
• South Alabama leads the all-time series, which began in 1978, 10-4, and has won four of the last five meetings.
• The teams split the season series last year with each team winning at home.
• GS is 2-5 at South Alabama and has not won in the Mitchell Center since an 81-73 decision Jan. 10, 2015.
• Prior to the 2014-15 season when GS joined the Sun Belt, the teams had not met since 2010 and 2011, both South Alabama victories.
• The Jaguars won four of the first five meetings from 1978-80.
• Georgia Southern swept the season series in 2014-15.

Team Storylines
• Seven of GS's 13 games have been decided by six points or less, and the Eagles are 4-3. Five have been one-possession games, and the Eagles are 3-2.
• Georgia Southern ranks 10th 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 40.3 is the highest since the 2001-02 season and a 5.6 rebound per game improvement from last year (34.7).
• 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 this season and has made 10-plus triples in a game five times this season.
• Mark Byington is coaching in his 155th career game today and his 144th 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 66-6 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 last time the Eagles won nine non-conference games was in the 2005-06 season.
• 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 79.1 points a game, the most since the 2004-05 season. The Eagles have scored over 80 points five 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 10th in the country and first in the SBC in free throws attempted. The Eagles are 40th in the nation and second in the SBC in free throws made.
• 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 28-1 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 play their first home game since Dec. 9, when they host Arkansas State in an SBC contest Thursday. It's the nightcap of a doubleheader with the women's teams, and tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
• Promotions: National Trivia Day, Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night – General admission tickets are only $5 with an Eagle ID and available for faculty/staff and their whole family (up to 4 members), Throwback Thursday.

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