Panthers Complete Road Swing at Louisiana Saturday at 8 p.m.

GEORGIA STATE (8-7, 1-2) at LOUISIANA (11-4, 1-2)
Saturday, Jan. 7 | 8 p.m. ET | Cajundome

WATCH: ESPN+
LISTEN: Georgia State Radio Network on WRAS-FM 88.5 and the GSU Athletics mobile app

THE TIPOFF: Georgia State continues its first Sun Belt Conference road trip with a Saturday night contest at Louisiana. Tipoff at the Cajundome is 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

> The Panthers (8-7, 1-2 Sun Belt) are coming off a 66-58 loss at ULM in which they rallied from a 19-point deficit in the second half to pull within three with 2:37 left but could get no closer.

> Louisiana (11-4, 1-2) picked up its first Sun Belt win Thursday over Southern Miss, 75-61.

> Junior guard Brenden Tucker recorded season highs with 25 points and six rebounds vs. ULM, including 10-of-13 free throws. Tucker has averaged 14.0 points in the Panthers' first three Sun Belt games.

> Sophomore guard Dwon Odom leads the Panthers in scoring (15.0 ppg), assists (50), steals (17) and blocked shots (14) and ranks second in rebounding (4.9 pg).

> Odom, the No. 9 scorer in the Sun Belt Conference, has reached 20 points four times, including a career-high 27 in the win over UNC Asheville and 24 vs. Belmont.

> Sophomore forward Ja'Heim Hudson averages 9.7 points and leads GSU in rebounding (8.0/6th in Sun Belt). He has three double-doubles on the season, including 18 points and 11 rebounds vs. South Alabama.

> Georgia State gave first-year head coach Jonas Hayes his first Sun Belt Conference win, and with last Saturday's 68-58 victory over South Alabama. Ja'Heim Hudson recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, Dwon Odom also scored 18 and the Panthers rallied from a 13-point deficit late in the first half with an 18-0 scoring run.

> The Panthers rank second in the Sun Belt and No. 46 in DI in scoring defense, holding their opponents to 63.2 points per game, including 62.3 ppg in the first three conference games. GSU limited James Madison, the nation's top scoring team, to 63 points in last week's Sun Belt opener.

SERIES NOTES: Georgia State holds a 17-7 lead in the series with Louisiana.

> The Panthers have won four in a row, including all three meetings last season: 68-64 at Lafayette, 65-58 in Atlanta and 80-71 in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship in Pensacola.

> The teams have met the last two years and five times overall in the Sun Belt Conference Championship. Georgia State has won four of those matchups, including last year's 80-71 win in the title game. Only three current Panthers played in that game: Evan Johnson (3 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast), Ja'Heim Hudson (5 pts, 2 reb) and Collin Moore.

> Since rejoining the Sun Belt for the 2013-14 season, Georgia State is 15-5 against the Ragin' Cajuns, including a 4-3 mark at Louisiana.

> Louisiana's last win in the series was an 80-78 victory at the Cajundome in 2019-20.

CHARITY CASE: Georgia State ranks No. 2 in the Sun Belt and No. 45 in Division I in free throw shooting at 75.0 percent.

> Individually, Dwon Odom (.825) is third in the Sun Belt and Brenden Tucker (.787) is fifth. Odom ranks fifth in the league in free throws made.

SHINING IN THE SUN BELT: Since returning to the Sun Belt Conference for the 2013-14 season, Georgia State has been the league's most successful program:

> GSU has won four Sun Belt Tournament titles since 2014 (2015, 1018, 2019, 2022). No other program has more than one in that time.

> Georgia State has finished first or second in the league standings in six of the last nine years, including regular-season titles in 2014, 2015 and 2019 and the East Division crown in 2021.

> The Panthers lead all Sun Belt teams in overall wins (195) and conference wins (108) in that time, ahead of Louisiana (189/99) and Sun Belt newcomer Old Dominion (190 overall).

> Since 2013-14, GSU has a .652 winning percentage in all games, including a .671 mark in Sun Belt contests.

HE EARNED IT: Kalik Brooks, a fourth-year junior from Alpharetta, Ga., joined the GSU program as a walk-on and was awarded a scholarship prior to this season.

> Brooks has started nine games and is averaging 4.9 points and 2.7 rebounds.

> He is shooting 45.7 percent (16-35) from 3-point range

> Brooks averaged 9.3 points in the three-game Capitol Classic, including a career-high 12 points vs. UNC Asheville. He contributed eight points at Auburn, nine vs. Rhode Island, and nine vs. Toccoa Falls.

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Players Mentioned

#21 Kalik Brooks: G; 6' 5"; Freshman

#15 Ja'Heim Hudson: F; 6' 7"; Sophomore

#0 Evan Johnson: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#24 Collin Moore: G; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#1 Dwon Odom: G; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#5 Brenden Tucker: G; 6' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#21 Kalik Brooks
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: G

#15 Ja'Heim Hudson
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: F

#0 Evan Johnson
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#24 Collin Moore
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Dwon Odom
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: G

#5 Brenden Tucker
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G