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Georgia Southern University Athletics

Montae Glenn

Men's Basketball Marc Gignac

Men’s Basketball Preview: UTA Visits Hanner Saturday

Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. on WSAV-CW and ESPN3

Georgia Southern (14-7, 5-3) vs. UTA (13-9, 4-5)
Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018 - Hanner Fieldhouse (3,897) – 5 p.m.
Series: Series tied 3-3, L1
Last Meeting: 2/20/17, L 71-81 (Hanner)
Television: WSAV-CW and 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: Blue Out, Free glow sticks (while they last), Mike and Ike Night - recognition of Mike Hughes and Ike Smith for 1,000 career points plus for Mike and Ike Candy (while they last), Fran Florian recognition, Men's Basketball Alumni Recognition, Baseball Wall of Fame Recognition, Football Coach Lunsford and Staff Recognition.
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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 stretch of seven of their final 11 regular-season games at home when they play host to Sun Belt preseason favorite UTA Saturday in Hanner Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m., and the game will air live on WSAV-CW and ESPN3.
• It's the first of two meetings between the Eagles and Mavericks this season. GS travels to Arlington Feb. 22.
• Georgia Southern is 18-4 in Hanner Fieldhouse in its last 22 contests there and 46-16 under Mark Byington. The Eagles are 6-1 in Hanner this season after suffering their first loss in the building Thursday, 62-61, to Texas State.
• GS is 3-2 in its last five, and the Eagles are fourth in the Sun Belt standings, a game behind Georgia 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.
• UTA is 2-3 in its last five and coming off an 81-75 loss at Georgia State Thursday night. The Mavericks are 4-7 on the road this season and 1-4 in road Sun Belt games.
• UTA has the second-highest scoring offense in the Sun Belt at 77.8 points per game, and the team's shooting percentage and field goal defense both rank among the top four in the league.
• The Mavericks feature eight seniors, who account for 90 percent of the team's scoring.
• UTA was picked to win the Sun Belt, while Kevin Hervey and Erick Neal were selected first-team all-league in the conference's preseason coaches poll. 
• Hervey, last year's Sun Belt Player of the Year, was also named Preseason Player of the Year for 2017-18. The 6-foot-9 forward is projected to be taken in the second round of this year's NBA draft.

The Series
• This is the seventh meeting in the all-time series, which began in 1972. 
• The Eagles are 2-3 against the Mavs since joining the Sun Belt in 2014, and 2-1 at home during that time period.
• The Eagles are 3-1 against UTA in Hanner Fieldhouse, which includes a 73-69 win in the first meeting in the Claxton Fruitcake Classic in 1972.

Team Storylines
• Eleven of GS's 21 games have been decided by six points or less, and the Eagles are 6-5. Nine have been one-possession games, and the Eagles are 5-4.
• Georgia Southern ranks 12th in the nation in offensive rebounds, and Montae Glenn ranks fifth in the country. The Eagles are second in the SBC in rebounding and first in offensive rebounds, and their rebound average of 40.2 is the highest since the 2001-02 season and a 5.5 rebound per game improvement from last year (34.7). 
• GS is averaging 75.7 points a game, and the Eagles have scored over 80 points six times, over 90 three times and over 100 twice. GS ranks fifth 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 fourth in turnovers forced.
• Georgia Southern's top-3 seasons in 3-pointers made and attempted have all come during Mark Byington's tenure. GS has made 10-plus triples in a game eight times this season.
• Mark Byington is coaching in his 162nd career game today and his 151st 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 69-7 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.
• Entering the 2017-18 campaign, GS joined 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, 33 Georgia Southern games against Sun Belt schools have been decided by five points or less, and the Eagles are 21-12.
• The Eagles are 29-6 in Sun Belt games when leading at halftime. GS is 31-2 when leading with five minutes to go.
• GS has a combined record of 38-19 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 travel to Arkansas to take on Little Rock and Arkansas State next Thursday and Saturday.
• After the trip, GS finishes the regular season with five of seven contests in the friendly confines of 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

Jake Allsmiller

#10 Jake Allsmiller

G
6' 5"
Senior
Tookie Brown

#4 Tookie Brown

G
5' 11"
Junior
Montae Glenn

#0 Montae Glenn

F
6' 8"
Junior
Mike Hughes

#2 Mike Hughes

G
6' 3"
Senior
Ike Smith

#3 Ike Smith

G
6' 4"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Jake Allsmiller

#10 Jake Allsmiller

6' 5"
Senior
G
Tookie Brown

#4 Tookie Brown

5' 11"
Junior
G
Montae Glenn

#0 Montae Glenn

6' 8"
Junior
F
Mike Hughes

#2 Mike Hughes

6' 3"
Senior
G
Ike Smith

#3 Ike Smith

6' 4"
Junior
G