ATLANTA-Coming off back-to-back impressive home wins, Georgia State will return to the road to face Sun Belt Conference preseason favorite South Alabama on Thursday at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala., at 8 p.m. ET.

Georgia State (12-6, 5-2 Sun Belt) enters play on Thursday one-third of the way through league play tied with Georgia Southern and Little Rock for first place in the league after winning the Sun Belt Conference regular season title last year.

South Alabama (11-7, 4-3 Sun Belt) has won five of its last six games but is just 2-11 against Georgia State in the last 13 meetings between the two schools.

Thursday's contest can be heard live on WRAS-FM 88.5 and the GSU Mobile App with Dave Cohen, now in his 37^th year as the Voice of the Panthers, calling the action. The game will also air live on ESPN+ with J.D. Byars and Pat Greenwood 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 83-36 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 12-6 start is tied for the fourth-best start in program history. Since the start of 2017, the Panthers have compiled a 23-5 mark in the month of January, including a stretch of 18-straight wins that ended last season.

Georgia State enters play holding opponents to just 26.3 percent shooting from 3-point range which ranks No. 6 in the country and first in the Sun Belt Conference. Georgia State is also holding opponents to just 38.4 percent shooting from the floor which ranks No. 31 in the NCAA.

Offensively the Panthers average 80.2 points per game which is ranked 21st in the country and among the top five best averages in program history. Georgia State is shooting 40.1 percent from behind the 3-point line which stands No. 8 in the country. The Panthers are also swiping 9.6 steals per game (No. 12 in the NCAA) while forcing 17.33 turnovers per contest which ranks No. 20 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 13.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game having dished out 33 assists in the last five contests.

Lone senior Damon Wilson is averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 4.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 47.0 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from 3-point range.

Redshirt-sophomore Justin Roberts, who earned 2K Empire Classic All-Tournament recognition, is tied for second on the team averaging 13.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He has swiped a team-high 35 steals, an average of 1.94 per game which ranks No. 58 in the country.

Redshirt-junior Corey Allen leads the Panthers in scoring averaging 15.1 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the floor. He leads GSU with 44 3-pointers which ranks among the top five in the Sun Belt Conference.

Freshman Joe Jones III rounds out the starting line-up averaging 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He is shooting 52.5 percent from the floor and an impressive 73.3 percent from the free throw line in conference games.

Notes:

• Georgia State and South Alabama have each won 15 of the 30 games played between the teams.
• Redshirt-junior Chris Clerkley has been a part of 80 wins in a GSU uniform. He is just eight wins shy of being a part of the winningest four-year stretch in program history.
• With a 3-pointer last time out, Georgia State has made at least one 3-pointer in 766 games dating back to Feb. 18, 1995.
• Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Panthers have won 146 games, the most of any NCAA Division 1 program in the state of Georgia.

Following Thursday's game, Georgia State will remain on the road and face Troy on Saturday. Tip is set for 3 p.m. ET in Troy and can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on the GSU Mobile App.

Quick Notes:
•    Sun Belt Conference charter members Georgia State and South Alabama will meet for the first of two regular season meetings on Thursday night in the 31st meeting all-time between the two programs.
•    The two programs have split the 30 previous all-time meetings, however, GSU has won 11 of the last 13 contests including a 69-66 win in Mobile last season.
•    Georgia State enters play in a tie with Little Rock and Georgia Southern for first-place in the Sun Belt Conference standings at 5-2, while preseason favorite South Alabama stands tied for fourth at 4-3.
•    Last time out Georgia State cruised to an 84-62 win over ULM on Saturday. The Panthers shot 62.1 percent from the floor and 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the second half against the Warhawks.
•    Georgia State remains the top team in the Sun Belt Conference in the latest NET Rankings sitting at No. 98 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 83-36 in Sun Belt Conference regular season games since rejoining the league in 2013-14.
•    The Panthers currently rank No. 1 in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, 3-point percentage, 3-point percentage defense, assists, and steals.
•    Georgia State's 12-6 start is tied for the fourth-best start in program history. 
•    GSU has won 14-straight home games dating back to last season and 22 of their last 23 home contests. The streak is currently the fourth-longest in program history and tied for the eighth-longest in the nation.
•    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.
•    GSU is currently ranked No. 7 in the country allowing opponents to shoot just 26.3 percent from 3-point range. GSU also ranks No. 31 in the country as opponents are shooting just 38.4 percent from the floor.
•    The Panthers are averaging 80.2 points per game, among the top 5 best averages in program history and currently ranked No. 22 in the NCAA.
•    GSU is shooting 40.1 percent from 3-point range which ranks No. 8 in the NCAA.
•    Georgia State is currently forcing 17.33 turnovers per contest, the 20th-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 13.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game.
•    As a team, GSU is swiping 9.6 steals per game, ranked No. 14 in the NCAA.
•    GSU has won more games (146) 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.