Panthers Return Home to Face Rival Louisiana Thursday

ATLANTA-Riding a 12-game home court winning streak, Georgia State will welcome rival Louisiana to the GSU Sports Arena on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Georgia State (10-6, 3-2 Sun Belt) enters play on Thursday in a five-way tie for second-place in the conference standings. Despite two-straight single-possession losses, the Panthers are still the highest-rated NCAA NET Ranking team in the conference.

Louisiana (7-9, 2-3 Sun Belt) has won two-straight games following a victory over Appalachian State on Monday night. The Ragin' Cajuns snapped a six-game losing streak to the Panthers last February but are just 1-7 against GSU all-time in the GSU Sports Arena.

Thursday's contest can be heard live on WRAS-FM 88.5 with Dave Cohen, now in his 37^th year as the Voice of the Panthers, being joined by former Panther Lamont McIntosh calling the action. The game will also air live on ESPN+ with Sam Crenshaw and Rodney Turner on the call. 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 81-36 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 10-6 start is tied for the fifth-best start in program history. The Panthers 12-game home court winning streak is the fourth-longest in program history and currently tied for the 19^th-longest in the country.

Georgia State enters play holding opponents to just 26.0 percent from 3-point range which ranks No. 5 in the country and first in the Sun Belt Conference. Georgia State is also holding opponents to just 39.0 percent shooting from the floor which ranks No. 46 in the country.

Offensively the Panthers are shooting 38.2 percent from behind the 3-point line which stands No. 21 in the country. Georgia State is swiping 9.4 steals per game (No. 19 in the NCAA) while forcing 17.25 turnovers per contest which ranks No. 27 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 13.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game having dished out 20 assists in the last three contests.

Lone senior Damon Wilson is averaging 11.8 points and a team-high 4.7 rebounds per contest while shooting 47.0 percent from the floor and 46.8 percent from 3-point range. He scored a team-high 19 points with eight rebounds at Arkansas State on Monday.

Redshirt-sophomore Justin Roberts, who earned 2K Empire Classic All-Tournament recognition, is third on the team averaging 13.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He has swiped a team-high 32 steals, an average of 2.0 per game which ranks No. 51 in the country.

Redshirt-junior Corey Allen leads the Panthers in scoring averaging 14.4 points per game while shooting 41.5 percent from the floor. He leads GSU with 39 3-pointers and is shooting 36.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Freshman Joe Jones III rounds out the starting line-up averaging 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 54.4 percent from the floor and just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds at Coastal Carolina last Saturday.

Notes:

Georgia State leads the all-time series with Louisiana 12-6
The Panthers are 7-1 all-time against Louisiana in the GSU Sports Arena.
With a 3-pointer last time out, Georgia State has made at least one 3-pointer in 764 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 Thursday's game, Georgia State will remain home to face ULM on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena. Tickets can be purchased by visiting GeorgiaStateSports.com/Tix or by calling 404-413-4020 during normal business hours.

Quick Notes:
•   Georgia State and Louisiana will meet for the first of two regular season meetings on Thursday night in the 19th meeting all-time between the two programs.
•   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 19th-longest in the nation.
•   Georgia State enters play in a five-way tie for second-place in the Sun Belt Conference standings at 3-2, two games back of 5-0 Little Rock.
•   GSU and Louisiana have developed quite a rivalry in the last six years as the two schools have met three times in the conference tournament.
•   Georgia State remains the top team in the Sun Belt Conference in the latest NET Rankings sitting at No. 113 as of Wednesday morning.
•   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 81-36 in Sun Belt Conference regular season games since rejoining the league in 2013-14.
•   Last time out, Georgia State fell at Arkansas State 90-87 as the Red Wolves shot 42 free throws.
•   Georgia State's 10-6 start is the fifth-best start in program history.
•   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.
•   Georgia State is currently ranked No. 5 in the country and No. 1 in the Sun Belt Conference allowing opponents to shoot just 26.0 percent from 3-point range. GSU also ranks No. 46 in the country as opponents are shooting just 39.0 percent from the floor.
•   GSU is shooting 38.2 percent from 3-point range which ranks No. 21 in the NCAA and No. 2 in the league.
•   Georgia State is currently forcing 17.25 turnovers per contest, the 27th-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 13.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game.
•   Justin Roberts was named to the 2K Empire Classic All-Tournament Team and is currently averaging 2.00 steals per game, No. 51 in the country. He already has three games this season where he recorded five swipes.
•   As a team, GSU is swiping 9.4 steals per game, ranked No. 19 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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