GEORGIA STATE (4-5) at #18/17 BYU (9-1)
Saturday, Dec. 16  |  9 p.m. ET  |  Provo, Utah

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THE TIPOFF: Georgia State heads west to face No. 18/17-ranked BYU Saturday at 9 p.m. ET in Provo, Utah.

> Georgia State is facing BYU for the second time, following an 80-62 loss in Provo in 2012-13.

> Georgia State has had five double-scorers in four of the last six games.

> The Panthers are playing on the road for the seventh time in their first 10 games.

> Georgia State leads the Sun Belt in free throw percentage at .771, which ranks No. 20 in Division I. In the overtime win at Little Rock, the Panthers went 22-for-22 at the free throw line in the second half and 29-for-34 in the game.

> The Panthers' top three scorers are the transfer trio of Lucas Taylor (14.1), Toneari Lane (12.4) and Jay'Den Turner (10.9).

> Lucas Taylor is the Panthers' leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, which ranks 12th in the Sun Belt. The Wake Forest transfer poured in a career-high 27 points in the 77-70 win at Western Michigan.

> Toneari Lane, the transfer from Winthrop, scored a career-high 23 points in each of the back-to-back wins over Little Rock. He hit nine 3-pointers and 11-of-13 free throws in the two games while averaging 5.0 rebounds.

> Lane is second in the Sun Belt with 2.6 3-pointers and third in 3-point percentage at .333. He is averaging 12.4 points per game.

> In the 93-90 overtime win at Little Rock (Nov. 22), the Panthers rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half after trailing 61-44 with 14 minutes to play. That is GSU's largest second-half comeback since overcoming a 22-point second-half deficit to win at Alabama in 2018-19. Lane, who scored 23 in the game, started the comeback with nine straight points on back-to-back treys and then three free throws.

> Jay'Den Turner leads the Panthers and ranks No. 5 in the Sun Belt with 8.4 rebounds per game, along with 10.9 points per game and a team-leading 11 steals. Turner scored a season-high 19 points Dec. 4 vs. Middle Georgia State, when he connected on 7-of-9 from the field, including 4-for-5 on 3-pointers. 

> In the overtime win at Little Rock, Turner had 16 points and eight rebounds, including six of GSU's 10 points in overtime. In one sequence, he hit the go-ahead 3-pointer, grabbed a steal, made a layup and then drew a charge. 

> Turner, the graduate transfer from Queens, needs 15 points to reach 1,000 for his career.

> Preseason All-Sun Belt guard Dwon Odom, the Panthers' top returning scorer, is averaging 10.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. 

> Odom is third in the Sun Belt in assists while leading in assist-to-turnover ratio at +3.3.

> Senior guard Brenden Tucker, another Preseason All-Sun Belt selection, reached the 1,000-point milestone for his career vs. Middle Georgia State. He averaged 12.9 ppg for the Panthers last season after scoring 569 points in three seasons at Charleston. 

> Tucker went 9-for-11 from the free throw line in the overtime win at Little Rock, including the tying free throws with 15 seconds left in regulation.

RANK THAT: Georgia State's last game against a nationally-ranked opponent was last season at No. 19/18 Auburn, a game in which the Panthers held the lead until about 13 minutes to play before falling 72-64.

> Another recent encounter with a ranked foe was the 2022 NCAA Tournament matchup with No. 1 Gonzaga. The Panthers led that game 54-52 with 13 minutes left before Gonzaga went on to win 93-72.

> Georgia State's last win over a ranked team was the Panthers' memorable win over No. 16-ranked Baylor in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, thanks to R.J. Hunter's last-second 3-pointer.

> The win over Baylor is one of has four victories over ranked teams in GSU history:
No. 25 Wisconsin, 50-49, 3-15-01 (NCAA)
No. 15 St. Joseph's, 95-90, 12-21-01
No. 25 Tulsa, 72-67, 12-1-03 (Gwinnett Arena)
No. 16 Baylor, 57-56, 3-19-15 (NCAA)

> Recent wins for Georgia State over Power 5 Conference opponents include Georgia Tech (2020-21, away), Alabama (2019-20, away) and Georgia (2019-20, neutral).