Men's Basketball 3/5/2021 11:00:00 AM

No. 1-Seed Panthers Open SBC Championship Saturday

ATLANTA-Riding a six-game winning streak and entering the Sun Belt Conference Championship as a No. 1-seed, Georgia State will open the 2021 league tournament on Saturday facing either No. 4-seed Arkansas State or No. 5-seed Georgia Southern at 6:30 p.m. ET, at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.

Georgia State (14-5, 8-4 Sun Belt) is riding a season-high winning streak and enters a conference tournament as a No. 1-seed for the sixth time in program history. Three of those previous five times have resulted in the Panthers earning the conference title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2019.

Georgia State's 14-5 mark is tied for the second-best start to a season in program history and has come despite nine games being postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.

The Panthers will learn their opponent on Friday night as the championship gets underway with four games in Pensacola. The top two teams in each division were given byes into the quarterfinals. The championship wraps up on Monday night on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET.

The hottest player on the team right now might be the youngest in the starting line-up, Jalen Thomas. Thomas was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week last week after scoring a career-high in three-straight games. He has now joined the rest of the starting five in averaging double figures entering the championship at 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Eliel Nsoseme has been 'Mr. Consistent' this year averaging just under a double-double of 11.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. He is also fourth in the nation averaging 4.18 offensive rebounds per game and No. 22 in rebounds per contest.

Junior Justin Roberts, who leads the team with 92 assists, is averaging 13.4 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game. He also has a team-high 31 steals.

Senior Corey Allen leads the Panthers in scoring averaging 14.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He recently eclipsed 1,500 points for his career and is among the top 50 active scorers in the country.

Senior Kane Williams, who became the 23^rd Georgia State player to score 1,000 career points earlier this year, is averaging 13.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest. He could enter the top 10 on Georgia State's all-time scoring list during the championship.

Having broken the century mark three times already this season, the Panthers enter the weekend averaging 81.0 points per game which ranks No. 19 in the NCAA. Georgia State is also 18th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio and No. 39 in field goal percentage.

Broadcast Information

Radio: WRAS-FM 88.5, PbP: Dave Cohen
Television: ESPN+, PbP: Matt Stewart, Color: Nate Ross
Live Stats: GeorgiaStateSports.com

Game Notes
• Georgia State, the most successful team in the Sun Belt since returning to the league for the 2013-14 season with 98 league wins during that time, missed 9 games this year due to COVID-19 protocols.
• Georgia State enters the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as a No. 1-seed for the sixth time. The Panthers have won three championships as a No. 1-seed and have combined for a 10-2 record in that spot.
• GSU is 31-33 all-time in conference tournaments, but 8-4 since returning to the Sun Belt for the 2013-14 season.
• This could mark the fourth time in the last six years Georgia State and Georgia Southern meet in the conference tournament. The Panthers won in 2015 and 2018, with the Eagles winning in 2020. Georgia State has met Arkansas State just once in the tournament, a 72-45 win in 2014.
• Georgia State is 8-6 all-time in conference championships in the state of Florida, winning a conference championship in 1991 in DeLand which led to the Panthers' first NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Georgia State's 14-5 mark is tied for the second-best 19-game start in program history, only behind the 16-3 start of 2000-01.
• Senior Kane Williams enters play tied with Terrence Brandon with 531 free throw attempts, the most in program history.
• Georgia State enters the weekend No. 18 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
• Georgia State has scored 100 or more points in three games this year, matching the school record for times going over the century mark in a season (1988-89 and 1991-92).
• Georgia State has already secured an eighth-straight winning season for the first time in program history.
• Georgia State has won 54-straight games dating back to 1999 when scoring 90 or more points.
• GSU is currently ranked No. 19 in the NCAA averaging 81.0 points per game, while holding an assist/turnover ratio of 1.44 which ranks No. 18 in the NCAA. GSU is shooting 47.4 percent from the floor which ranks No. 39 in the nation.
• Eliel Nsoseme is No. 4 in the NCAA averaging 4.18 offensive rebounds per contest and No. 22 averaging 9.9 rebounds per game. He grabbed 20 rebounds against Mercer and has recorded four double-doubles this season.
• Corey Allen is shooting 41.7 percent from deep which ranks No. 23 in the NCAA. He is currently ranked No. 44 among active scorers in the nation with 1,568 career points.
• Kane Williams is one of three active Sun Belt players with career totals of at least 1,000 points (1,196), 300 rebounds (361) and 300 assists (371). There are 61 active NCAA Division I players with those milestones.
• Williams, an All-Sun Belt Preseason First Team member, enters with 1,196 career points, 16 shy of Kevin Morris for 12th and 18 shy of Zavian Smith for 11th on GSU's all-time list.
• In GSU's win over Georgia Tech, the Panthers earned their first win ever over an ACC opponent and third over a Power 5 opponent in the last three years.
• Also in the win over Tech, four Panthers (Allen, Nsoseme, Roberts, and Williams) each scored 20 or more points marking the first time in program history that feat has been accomplished in a game. GSU is the only team in the country to have four players score 20 or more points in a game this season.
• Since returning to the Sun Belt in 2013-14, Georgia State has finished in the top two of the final regular season conference standings six times in eight seasons.
• During that same time, GSU has won more games (167) than any other NCAA Division I team in Georgia.

With a win on Saturday, Georgia State would advance to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Semifinals on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET, facing either Louisiana, South Alabama, or ULM.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Corey Allen: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#1 Eliel Nsoseme: F; 6' 9"; Redshirt Junior

#2 Justin Roberts: G; 6' 0"; Junior

#25 Jalen Thomas: F; 6' 10"; Sophomore

#12 Kane Williams: G; 6' 4"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#11 Corey Allen
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#1 Eliel Nsoseme
: 6' 9"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#2 Justin Roberts
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

#25 Jalen Thomas
: 6' 10"; Sophomore
: F

#12 Kane Williams
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G