NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference announced the 2019-20 men's basketball schedule today, and the conference will utilize a 20-game conference schedule for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.

Longtime rival Appalachian State along with Coastal Carolina will visit Hanner Fieldhouse for the first time since 2016-17.

Georgia Southern will play Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy and UTA twice - both at home and on the road. The Eagles will play host to Arkansas State and travel to Little Rock, making up the final two contests of the league slate.

As a result of the 20-game docket, the league schedule will begin before the new year with Texas State (Dec. 19) and UTA (Dec. 21) traveling to Hanner Fieldhouse. Longtime rival Appalachian State will visit Statesboro Feb. 15, and the Eagles play host to Georgia State Jan. 25. GS caps a three-game road trip by traveling to Atlanta to face the Panthers Feb. 29, before hosting Arkansas State in the final regular-season contest March 3.

The conference slate will keep a primary Thursday-Saturday format with league contests played against travel partners for two-game road trips to maximize rest, minimize travel times and limit missed class time.
   
Tip times for conference games will be announced by each institution. Select game dates may be adjusted for live coverage on the ESPN family of networks. The conference's men's and women's basketball broadcast schedule will be announced prior to the start of the season.
 
The 2020 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Championship will once again see 10 vying for the tournament title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. First-round games on Saturday, March 7, second-round games on Monday, March 9 and quarterfinal games on Wednesday, March 11 will be held on campus sites and hosted by the higher seeds. 

The semifinals on Saturday, March 14, and championship game on Sunday, March 15, will be held at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will receive byes directly to the semifinals, the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will receive byes and host the quarterfinal games, the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds will host the second-round games and the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds will host the first-round games.
 
All nine games of the championship are slated for live coverage on the ESPN family of networks.

The Eagles are set to return 68 percent of their scoring and 69 percent of their rebounding in 2019-20. Redshirt senior Ike Smith, who received a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA to compete this season, enters the year ranked 13th on the school's career Division I scoring list. He needs 21 points and eight rebounds to become the fifth Eagle with 1,500 career points and 500 rebounds.

The 2019-20 non-conference schedule is nearing completion. The Eagles renewed a long-time series with local rival Mercer last season, and the Bears are set to visit Hanner Fieldhouse, along with Radford, which shared the Big South regular-season title.

The season ticket renewal deadline is Sunday, September 15, 2019, and season tickets not renewed and paid in full by the renewal deadline will be released to the general public. Season tickets for the 2019-20 season start at $100 for general admission seating and $140 for reserved seats. Tickets can be purchased at GSEagles.com/tickets.