Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Host Texas State Thursday

The Eagles play seven of their final 11 at home.

Georgia Southern (14-6, 5-2) vs. Texas State (13-8, 6-2)
Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018 - Hanner Fieldhouse (3,897) – 7:30 p.m.
Series: GS leads 5-1, W2
Last Meeting: 2/18/17, W 70-67 (Hanner)
Television: 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)
Promotions: Salute to Heroes Night – All active duty and veteran military personnel, police officers, firefighters, and EMS receive free admission with valid ID and may purchase discount $5 general admission tickets for either game or $10 for both games for family members

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Georgia Southern	Texas 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 starts a stretch of seven of their final 11 regular-season games at home when they take on Texas State Thursday in Hanner Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the game will air live on ESPN3.
• It's the Eagles' Suits and Sneakers Game, and the coaching staff will ditch their dress shoes for sneakers and wear exclusive Coaches vs. Cancer ties, designed by Vineyard Vines.
• It's a nationwide event to raise funds and awareness about the fight against cancer and promotes the American Cancer Society as a source of inspiration and hope for those facing cancer.
• GS men's soccer junior Emil Laursen will receive his CoSIDA Academic All-American plaque during the game. Laursen was named to the first team and carries a 4.0 grade point average in finance.
• It's the first of two meetings between the Eagles and Bobcats this season. GS travels to San Marcos Feb. 24.
• Georgia Southern 18-3 in Hanner Fieldhouse in its last 21 contests there and 46-15 under Mark Byington. The Eagles are 6-0 in Hanner this season.
• GS is 4-1 in its last five and coming off an 83-66 loss at Georgia State Saturday. The Eagles are tied for third in the Sun Belt standings with Georgia State, a half game behind Texas State.
• As of Jan. 22, the Eagles are ranked 19th in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top-25. Saint Mary's is ranked first, Louisiana is fourth, ETSU is fifth, Missouri State is 16th, while Towson, UTA, and Georgia State are receiving votes.
• Texas State is 4-1 in its last five and coming off an 80-55 home loss to Louisiana Saturday.
• The Bobcats are 5-5 on the road and 3-1 in road Sun Belt games.
• Texas State saw its six-game win streak, its longest since 2003-04, come to an end against the Ragin' Cajuns.
• The Bobcats started conference play with a 6-1 mark, their best since the 2003-04 season, when they went 6-1 in the Southland.
• Texas State was picked sixth and Nijal Pearson was named third-team all-league in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll.

The Series
• This will be the seventh meeting in the series, which began in 1965. The teams renewed the series in 2014-15 as members of the Sun Belt Conference, and both contests were settled by a combined six points. Five of the six meetings in the series have been decided by six points or less.
• The Eagles' 40-36 win over Texas State (1/3/15) was their fewest points allowed since Dec. 5, 1987, when they held Savannah State to 36 points. It is the first 40-36 game in the shot clock era and ranks in a tie for 19th lowest scoring game for two teams combined and the lowest scoring Sun Belt game in the shot clock era.
• GS is 4-0 against Texas State at home.

Team Storylines
• Ten of GS's 20 games have been decided by six points or less, and the Eagles are 6-4. Seven have been one-possession games, and the Eagles are 5-3.
• Georgia Southern ranks seventh in the nation in offensive rebounds, and Montae Glenn ranks third in the country. The Eagles are first in the SBC in rebounding and first in offensive rebounds, and their rebound average of 40.5 is the highest since the 2001-02 season and a 5.8 rebound per game improvement from last year (34.7).
• GS is averaging 76.4 points a game, the most since the 2005-06 season. The Eagles have scored over 80 points six times, over 90 three times and over 100 twice. GS ranks T-4 in the SBC in scoring and second in scoring margin.
• The Eagles have been without leading scorers and first-team Preseason All-Sun Belt selections Ike Smith or Tookie Brown for six games this season.
• 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 seventh in the SBC in 3-pointers made and fifth in attempts this season and has made 10-plus triples in a game eight times this season.
• Mark Byington is coaching in his 161st career game today and his 150th at Georgia Southern. He is 10 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 59-13 in games when leading at half and 69-6 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, 32 Georgia Southern games against Sun Belt schools have been decided by five points or less, and the Eagles are 21-11.
• The Eagles are 29-6 in Sun Belt games when leading at halftime. GS is 31-1 when leading with five minutes to go.
• GS has a combined record of 38-18 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 have opened Sun Belt Conference play on the road in three of their four years in the league.
• 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.

Next Up
• The Eagles take on Sun Belt Preseason favorite UTA Saturday at 5 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. The game will air live on ESPN3 and WSAV-CW.
• Mike Hughes and Ike Smith will receive commemorative 1,000-point balls prior to tipoff.
• Promotions: Student Appreciation Day, Blue Out Game, Glowstick Night, Men's Basketball Alumni Day and Fran Florian celebration.

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

#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

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

Georgia Southern University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned