ATLANTA-- Following a 71-66 victory over Ball State in their season opener, the Panthers travel to Starkville, Miss., to face SEC opponent Mississippi State for first road test of the season on Friday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

SERIES NOTES: Georgia State and Mississippi State are meeting for the fifth time in program history. Mississippi State has won each of the previous four matchups. 

Overall: 0-4

At home: 0-0

On the road: 0-3

Neutral: 0-1

PANTHERS IN THE SUN BELT: 

> Georgia State leads the Sun Belt in assist/turnover ratio with 2.33 percent. The team ranks second in the conference in foeld goal percentage defense (32.4). 

> Led by Nick McMullen, who leads the Sun Belt in rebounds per game (11th in the nation with 13.0 rpg), the Panthers lead the conference in rebounds per game averaging 49.0. 

> The Panthers also rank top ten in the conference in  free throw percentage (6th/ 68.2) and scoring defense (6th/ 66.0). 

> Three Panthers (Cesare Edwards, Zarique Nutter and Nick McMullen) scored double-doubles in the season opener against Ball State (Nov. 4) to lead the Sun Belt and rank second in the nation for double-doubles. 

KEY RETURNERS: In a rebuild off-season for the Panthers' basketball team, head coach Jonas Hayes retained five returners from the 2023-24 squad, including Toneari Lane, Malik Ferguson, DK Dut, Brevyn Coleman and Aaron Oh. 

> The Panthers key returner Toneari Lane is third on the Panthers' leaderboard with 14.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg and two assists. 

> The senior guard ranks fourth in the Sun Belt for assist/turnover ratio (3.0). 

> Lane, the team's second-leading scorer last season at 13.1 ppg, led the Sun Belt in the 2023-24 season in 3-point percentage (.331) and 3-pointers per game (2.7). His 82 3-pointers are the eighth-highest season total in GSU history.

> Sophomore returnee Malik Ferguson started in eight games for the Panthers, averaging 4.4 ppg, 0.5 rpg and totaled 35 points on the season.   

VETERAN TRANSFER SQUAD: Head coach Jonas Hayes and his staff have rebuilt the GSU roster with addition of seven transfers and four freshmen. 

> The transfer squad brings experienced veteran players including Justin Archer (graduate, Radford), Cesare Edwards (seniro, Missouri State), Zarique Nutter (senior, Northern Illinois), Darnell Evans (senior, Caldwell) and Nick McMullen (senior, UNC-Asheville). 

> Senior Cesare Edwards is the Panthers' leading scorer with 17.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg and one assist. In the Panthers' season opening win over Ball State (Nov. 4), Edwards led the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds to score his first double-double of the season. 

> The forward ranks top 10 in the Sun Belt for field goals (6th/8), points per game (7th/ 17.0) and rebounds per game (4th/ 12.0). 

> Edwards is no stranger to head coach Jonas Hayes Staff. Before transferring to Missouri State, Edwards participated on the Xavier team that coach Hayes led before coming to GSU. 

> Northern Illinois transfer Zarique Nutter is Georgia State's second-leading scorer with 16.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg and six assists. 

>  Along with two other Panthers, Nutter leads the Sun Belt and ranks second in the nation for double-doubles. 

> Nutter leads the Panthers with 6.0 assists per game, ranking third overall in the Sun Belt. He also ranks top 10 in the conference in free throws (10th/ 5). 

> Nutter scored a double-double in the Panthers' season-opener against Ball State (Nov. 4), totaling 16 points and 12 rebounds in the 71-66 victory. 

> At NIU, nutter averaged 13.7 points and 5.2 rebounds over the last two seasons. He was the Huskies second-leading scorer last season. 

> Senior Nick McMullen is fourth on the Panthers' leaderboard with 10.0 ppg. He leads the team in rebounds with 13, which ranks third in the Sun Belt. Hi ten defensive rebounds leads the Sun Belt and ranks 11th overall in the nation. 

>  In the Panthers' season-opener against Ball State (Nov. 4), McMullen scored a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. 

> McMullen joins the Panthers squad after two seasons at UNC-Asheville, where he participated on the 2023-24 team who made an NCAA appearance. McMullen averaged 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in two seasons (69 games) at UNC Asheville while shooting 57.9 percent from the field.