Panthers Continue Road Trip at Coastal Carolina Saturday

BOONE, N.C.-Looking to extend an eight-game conference winning streak dating back to last season, Georgia State will travel to Conway, S.C. to face Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon at the HTC Center at 2 p.m.

Georgia State (10-4, 3-0 Sun Belt) enters play on Saturday in a three-way tie for first place atop the conference standings. It will mark the second game of a three-game road trip that will conclude at Arkansas State on Monday night.

Coastal Carolina (8-6, 1-2 Sun Belt) enters play nearly overcoming an 18-point deficit to Georgia Southern on Thursday night before falling 70-67.

Saturday's contest can be heard live on the GSU Mobile App with the Voice of the Panthers Dave Cohen calling the action. The game will also air live on ESPN+. Live statistics and live audio will be available at GeorgiaStateSports.com and on most mobile devices.

Georgia State, the back-to-back defending Sun Belt Conference tournament champions have compiled an 81-34 league record since rejoining the league in 2013-14. During that six-year span, the Panthers have finished among the top two in the regular season standings five times.

Georgia State's 10-4 start is tied for the fourth-best start in program history and marks the second-straight season the Panthers have won 10 of their first 14 games.

Georgia State enters play holding opponents to just 25.2 percent from 3-point range which ranks No. 4 in the country and first in the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers held Appalachian State to just 4-of-18 from 3-point range on Thursday night. Georgia State is also holding opponents to just 38.5 percent shooting from the floor which ranks No. 31 in the country.

Offensively the Panthers are shooting 38.8 percent from behind the 3-point line which stands No. 16 in the country. Georgia State is swiping 9.5 steals per game (No. 21 in the NCAA) while forcing 17.57 turnovers per contest which ranks No. 26 in the country.

Junior Kane Williams who was named the 2K Empire Classic Tournament MVP and earned All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team honors is currently averaging 13.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game following a career-high nine assists against the Mountaineers.

Lone senior Damon Wilson is averaging 11.5 points per contest while shooting 46.0 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from 3-point range. He is also pulling down a team-high 4.5 rebounds per game.

Redshirt-sophomore Justin Roberts, who earned 2K Empire Classic All-Tournament recognition, is third on the team averaging 13.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He has swiped a team-high 30 steals, an average of 2.14 per game which ranks No. 42 in the country.

Redshirt-junior Corey Allen leads the Panthers in scoring averaging 15.3 points per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the floor. He leads GSU with 36 3-pointers and is shooting 38.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Freshman Jalen Thomas earned six-straight starts before Thursday night is averaging 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He went a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor against Appalachian State and is shooting 62.9 percent from the floor this year.

Notes:

With the win on Thursday night, Georgia State improved 17 spots in the NET Rankings and now stands No. 101, tops in the Sun Belt Conference.
Georgia State and Coastal Carolina have split four Sun Belt Conference games since the Chanticleers joined the league three seasons ago.
With a 3-pointer last time out, Georgia State has made at least one 3-pointer in 762 games dating back to Feb. 18, 1995.
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Panthers have won 144 games, the most of any NCAA Division 1 program in the state of Georgia.

Following Saturday's game, Georgia State will conclude its three-game road trip at Arkansas State on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN+ and WRAS-FM 88.5.

Quick Notes:
•   Georgia State and Coastal Carolina will meet for the first of two regular season meetings on Saturday afternoon in the seventh meeting all-time between the two programs.
•   Georgia State enters play in a three-way tie for first place atop the Sun Belt Conference standings at 3-0 along with Georgia Southern and Little Rock.
•   Following the win in Boone, Georgia State moved up to No. 101 in the latest NET Rankings, the highest-ranked team in the Sun Belt Conference.
•   Since returning to the Sun Belt in 2013-14, Georgia State has finished in the top two of the final regular season conference standings five times in six seasons.
•   GSU is 81-34 in Sun Belt Conference regular season games since rejoining the league in 2013-14.
•   Georgia State has won eight-straight conference games dating back to last season which is the 11th-longest winning streak of conference games in the country.
•   Last time out Georgia State earned a 69-60 win at Appalachian State as freshman Jalen Thomas scored a career-high 14 points going 7-of-7 from the floor.
•   Georgia State's 10-4 start is tied for the fourth-best start in program history. It marks the second-straight season the Panthers have won 10 of their first 14 games.
•   As the decade came to an end, the Panthers finished the 10 year stretch winning 197 games during the 2010's. The previous best decade was the 2000's when Georgia State won 158.
•   GSU has won 12-straight home games dating back to last season and 20 of their last 21 home contests. The streak is currently the fourth-longest in program history and tied for the 16th-longest in the nation.
•   Georgia State is currently ranked No. 4 in the country and No. 1 in the Sun Belt Conference allowing opponents to shoot just 25.2 percent from 3-point range. GSU also ranks No. 31 in the country as opponents are shooting just 38.5 percent from the floor.
•   GSU is shooting 38.8 percent from 3-point range which ranks No. 16 in the NCAA and No. 2 in the league.
•   Georgia State is currently forcing 17.57 turnovers per contest, the 26th-best mark in the NCAA.
•   Junior Kane Williams, who was named Tournament MVP of the 2K Empire Classic and to the All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team is averaging 13.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game.
•   Justin Roberts was named to the 2K Empire Classic All-Tournament Team and is currently averaging 2.14 steals per game, No. 42 in the country. He already has three games this season where he recorded five swipes.
•   As a team, GSU is swiping 9.5 steals per game, ranked No. 21 in the NCAA.
•   GSU has won more games (144) than any other Division I team in Georgia since the start of the 2013-14 season.
•   Kane Williams is one of just nine active juniors in the country to have won conference tournaments in each of their first two years and appeared in NCAA Tournament games.

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