Men's Basketball 1/12/2018 3:37:00 PM Marc Gignac

Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Meet Longtime Rival App State Saturday

Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. in the Holmes Center.

Georgia Southern (13-5, 4-1) vs. Appalachian State (8-10, 3-2) Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 - Holmes Center (8,325) – 3:30 p.m. Series: GS trails 26-22, L1 Last Meeting: 2/13/17, L 78-83 (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	Appalachian 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

Setting the Scene
• Georgia Southern continues a three-game road swing at Appalachian State with tipoff set for 3:30 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
• It's the only meeting between the Eagles and Mountaineers this season.
• It's part of a stretch in which the Eagles open Sun Belt play with five of seven on the road. GS closes the regular season with seven of 11 and five of seven contests at home.
• The Eagles have opened conference play on the road in three of their four years in the league.
• The Eagles are 5-4 in true road games and 7-5 away from home.
• GS is 6-7 in its last 13 games against league competition after posting a 9-2 mark in its first 11 SBC contests last season.
• GS is 4-1 in its last five and coming off a 77-66 win at Coastal Carolina Thursday night. It was the Eagles' first win in Conway.
• As of Jan. 8, the Eagles are ranked 22nd in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top-25. Gonzaga is ranked first, UTA is ranked 16th, Louisiana is fourth, Towson is 13th and Missouri State is ninth.
• Appalachian State is 3-2 in its last five but coming off a 71-58 home loss to Georgia State Thursday night.
• The Mountaineers are 6-1 at home and 2-1 in home Sun Belt games.
• Appalachian State ranks second in the Sun Belt in scoring and leads the league in both 3-pointers made and attempted.
• Appalachian State was picked 11th, and Ronshad Shabazz was named second-team all-league in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll

The Series
• Georgia Southern trails the all-time series, which began in 1949, 26-22, but the Eagles have won five of six since both teams joined the Sun Belt in 2014-15.
• The Eagles are 7-14 in the last 21 contests, dating back to 2006.
• Georgia Southern is 8-14 on the road but has won two of the last three.
• Both meetings in the 2012-13 campaign went into overtime, and the Mountaineers won both.

Team Storylines
• Nine of GS's 18 games have been decided by six points or less, and the Eagles are 5-4. Seven have been one-possession games, and the Eagles are 4-3.
• Georgia Southern ranks 11th in the nation in offensive rebounds, and Montae Glenn ranks fifth in the country. The Eagles are first in the SBC in rebounding and offensive rebounds, and their rebound average of 40.6 is the highest since the 2001-02 season and a 5.9 rebound per game improvement from last year (34.7).
• GS ranks 42nd in the country and second in the SBC in free throws made. The Eagles are 10th in the nation and first in the SBC in free throws attempted.
• GS is averaging 77.9 points a game, the most since the 2004-05 season. The Eagles have scored over 80 points six times, over 90 three times and over 100 twice. GS ranks fourth in the SBC in scoring and second in scoring margin.
• Georgia Southern ranks third in the SBC in fewest turnovers, second in turnover margin and fifth in turnovers forced.
• Georgia Southern's top-3 seasons in 3-pointers made and attempted have all come during Mark Byington's tenure. GS is sixth in the SBC in 3-pointers made and third in attempts this season and has made 10-plus triples in a game seven times this season.
• Mark Byington is coaching in his 159th career game today and his 148th at Georgia Southern. He is 11 wins shy of 100 for his career, and 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 59-12 in games when leading at half and 68-6 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).
• GS reached double-digit wins before the new year for the first time in school history. The Eagles' 10th victory of the season was an 86-80 decision at Troy Dec. 30.
• 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 victories (36) against league competition during that time.
• Since joining the Sun Belt in 2014, 31 Georgia Southern games against Sun Belt schools have been decided by five points or less, and the Eagles are 20-11.
• The Eagles are 29-5 in Sun Belt games when leading at halftime. GS is 30-1 when leading with five minutes to go.
• GS has a combined record of 37-17 in Sun Belt games played in January and February since joining the league in 2014-15.
• GS went 9-4 in non-conference games. The last time the Eagles won nine non-conference games was in the 2005-06 season.
• Georgia Southern played six straight contests on the road in December and posted a 3-3 record. The last time the Eagles played six straight true road games was December of 1963, and the Eagles were 1-5 that year.
• The Eagles capped the non-conference portion of their schedule with four straight games on the road, a trip that encompassed 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) and went 2-2.
• 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.
• All Sun Belt Conference matchups are doubleheaders with the women's teams with the exception of the Georgia State contest Feb. 9, in Hanner Fieldhouse on ESPN2 at 9 p.m.
• WSAV-CW in Savannah will televise the Eagles' Saturday home games for the remainder of the season. All Saturday home games tip off at 5 p.m.
• 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.

Stat Stuffer
• 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 six points and six 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.

Next Up
• The Eagles travel to Georgia State next Saturday for a 2:15 p.m. contest on ESPN3.
• One point will be on the line in the Southern vs. State Rivalry Series, which State currently leads 6.5-0.5.
• Following the game at State, the Eagles play seven of their final 11 regular-season games in Hanner Fieldhouse.

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

#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

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

Georgia Southern University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned