Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Play First Home Game in Nearly a Month Thursday

The Eagles host Arkansas State and Little Rock this week.

Georgia Southern (10-5, 1-1) vs. Arkansas State (6-9, 1-1) Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 - Hanner Fieldhouse (3,897) – 7:30 p.m. Series: GS leads 10-3, W8 Last Meeting: 2/25/17, W 72-60 (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	Arkansas State
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 plays its first home game in nearly a month when the Eagles host Arkansas State Thursday.
• Georgia Southern played the last six contests on the road and went 3-3. 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 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).
• Georgia Southern is 36-9 in Hanner Fieldhouse in its last 45 contests there and 43-15 under Mark Byington.
• 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 is 3-7 in its last 10 games against league competition after posting a 9-2 mark in its first 11 SBC contests last season.
• GS is 2-3 in its last five and is coming off a 69-67 setback at South Alabama Sunday.
• 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.
• As of Jan. 2, the Eagles are ranked 23rd in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top-25. Gonzaga is ranked first, UTA is ranked 17th, Louisiana is eighth, Towson is 14th and Missouri State is ninth. App State and Bradley are receiving votes.
• Arkansas State is 3-2 in its last five and coming off an 88-78 home loss to Louisiana Dec. 31.
• The Red Wolves are 1-7 on the road.
• The Red Wolves are 0-9 in the state of Georgia since 1995, but no player on the current Arkansas State roster has played at Georgia Southern for the Red Wolves.
• Arkansas State was picked seventh in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Series
• This will be the 14th meeting in the all-time series, which began in 1956. Georgia Southern owns a 10-3 edge and has won the last eight, including all five since joining the Sun Belt in 2014-15.
• Georgia Southern has won four straight against the Red Wolves in Hanner Fieldhouse and is 5-1 overall.
• Two of the last four meetings have been decided by five points each.

Team Storylines
• Eight of GS's 15 games have been decided by six points or less, and the Eagles are 4-4. Six have been one-possession games, and the Eagles are 3-3.
• Georgia Southern ranks eighth in the nation in offensive rebounds, and Montae Glenn ranks fifth in the country. The Eagles are second in the SBC in rebounding, and their rebound average of 41.0 is the highest since the 2001-02 season and a 6.3 rebound per game improvement from last year (34.7).
• GS ranks 38th in the country and third in the SBC in free throws made. The Eagles are 11th in the nation and second in the SBC in free throws attempted.
• GS is averaging 78.3 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 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 ranks sixth 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 156th career game today and his 145th 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).
• 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, 30 Georgia Southern games against Sun Belt schools have been decided by five points or less, and the Eagles are 19-11.
• 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.
• GS went 9-4 in non-conference games. 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.
• All Sun Belt Conference matchups are doubleheaders with the women's teams with the exception of the Georgia State contest Feb. 9 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.

Next Up
• The Eagles play host to Little Rock Saturday. The game will tip off at 5 p.m. and will air on WSAV-CW and ESPN3.
• Promotions: Basketball Jersey Day - kids 12 and under receive free admission when they wear their team jersey, Georgia Southern jersey, or favorite NBA jersey to either game (with purchase of an adult ticket only)

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