Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Open Three-Game Homestand Thursday

Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN3.

Georgia Southern (16-8, 7-4) vs. ULM (9-12, 3-7)
Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018 - Hanner Fieldhouse (3,897) – 7:30 p.m.
Series: GS trails 7-10, W2
Last Meeting: 2/4/17, W 76-62 (Hanner)
TV: 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: Throwback Thursday – Fans can submit their favorite oldies songs to be played at the game, Basketball recreation teams from the Statesboro-Bulloch Parks and Recreation Department will play at halftime.

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Georgia Southern	ULM
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 opens a three-game homestand against ULM Thursday in Hanner Fieldhouse. The game will air on ESPN3 with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.
• It's the only scheduled meeting between the Eagles and Warhawks this season.
• Georgia Southern is 19-4 in Hanner Fieldhouse in its last 23 contests there, 47-16 under in four-plus years under Mark Byington and 26-7 in Sun Belt games. The Eagles are 7-1 in Hanner this season and play five of their final seven regular-season contests at home.
• GS is 3-2 in its last five but coming off a 91-89 loss at Arkansas State last Saturday. The Eagles are third in the Sun Belt standings, a half game ahead of Texas State, though the Bobcats defeated the Eagles in the first of two meetings, 62-61 back on Jan. 25. The top-4 receive a first-round bye in the Sun Belt Tournament March 7-11 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.
• GS dropped out of the CollegeInsider Mid-Major top-25 for the first time since November in the Jan. 29 poll, but the Eagles are still receiving votes as of Feb. 5. Saint Mary's is ranked first, Louisiana is fourth, ETSU is fifth and Georgia State is 16th. Missouri State is also receiving votes.
• ULM is 2-3 in its last five and coming off an 80-59 home loss at league leader Louisiana Saturday afternoon.
• The Warhawks are searching for their first road win (0-9) and are 0-5 in Sun Belt games on the road.
• ULM features four players averaging double figures in the scoring column and ranks in the top-3 in the Sun Belt leaders in 3-point field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Three-point field goals account for 36.3 percent of ULM's scoring (177 3-pointers made; 531 of 1,459 points). The Warhawks have attempted at least 20 3-pointers in 14 of 21 games.

The Series
• ULM leads the all-time series, which began in 1976, 10-7, but the teams are 5-5 in the last 10.
• The Eagles are 4-4 against ULM at home and have won the last two.
• All three meetings in 2014-15, Georgia Southern's first campaign in the Sun Belt, were decided by four points or less, and the Eagles won two of them, including a 44-43 decision in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament.
• The teams split the season series in 2015-16 last year with each squad winning at home, and GS swept the Warhawks last season. The Eagles are 5-2 against ULM since joining the Sun Belt.

Team Storylines
• Thirteen of GS's 24 games have been decided by six points or less, and the Eagles are 7-6. Ten have been one-possession games, and the Eagles are 5-5.
• Georgia Southern ranks 17th in the nation in offensive rebounds, and Montae Glenn ranks fifth in the country. The Eagles are fourth in the SBC in rebounding and first in offensive rebounds, and their rebound average of 39.2 is a 4.5 rebound per game improvement from last year (34.7).
• GS is averaging 75.8 points a game, and the Eagles have scored over 80 points seven times, over 90 three times and over 100 twice. GS ranks fifth in the SBC in scoring and third 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 second in the SBC in fewest turnovers, second in turnover margin and fourth in turnovers forced. The Eagles have posted 10 turnovers or less in eight contests.
• 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 165th career game today and his 154th at Georgia Southern. He is eight 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 59-14 in games when leading at half and 71-7 when leading with five minutes to go.
• 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.
• The Eagles will be wearing green shoelaces for the rest of the season to promote Mental Health Awareness.
• During the month of February, the Eagles will participate in the Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge. The conference and its member schools encourage fans, corporate partners and media to join the excitement by joining your favorite team to help raise funds for the American Cancer Society. The winner of the Sun Belt Conference's challenge will be crowned the league's 3-Point Champion, and all participating schools are entered into the national contest for a chance to earn the national 3-Point College Champion honor.
• 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, 34 Georgia Southern games against Sun Belt schools have been decided by five points or less, and the Eagles are 21-13.
• The Eagles are 29-7 in Sun Belt games when leading at halftime. GS is 33-2 when leading with five minutes to go.
• GS has a combined record of 40-20 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. GS started its league schedule with five of seven on the road.
• 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 the season 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 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).
• All Sun Belt Conference match-ups 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
• Georgia Southern hosts first-place Louisiana Saturday at 5 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. The Ragin' Cajuns enter the week undefeated in conference play with a 10-0 record. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and WSAV-CW in Savannah.
• Promotions: Pack the House in Pink – Join us in the fight against Breast Cancer. Make sure you wear pink to the game to show your support. The tumbling and jumping gymnastics group, the Rocket Stars will be performing at halftime. The GS coaching staff will be raising money for autism through Coaches Powering Forward for Autism benefiting Autism Speaks. The coaches will be wearing the blue puzzle piece pin on their suit jackets during the game. This is part of college basketball's autism awareness weekend, an effort started by Towson head men's basketball coach Pat Skerry and USF assistant men's basketball coach Tom Herrion.

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