Panthers Open February Hosting Troy Saturday

ATLANTA-Riding a 15-game home-court winning streak, Georgia State will face Troy for the second time in two weeks as the Trojans come to the GSU Sports Arena for a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday.

Georgia State (15-7, 8-3 Sun Belt) sits alone in second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings just 1.5 games behind Little Rock for the top spot in the league. The Panthers have won 15-straight and 23-of-24 home games dating back to the 2017-18 season.

Troy (8-15, 4-8 Sun Belt) enters play having lost three-straight since topping the Panthers 75-65 in Trojan Arena on Jan. 18. The Trojans are coming off an 86-57 loss to Georgia Southern in Statesboro on Thursday night.

Saturday's contest can be heard live on the GSU Mobile App with Dave Cohen, now in his 37^th year as the Voice of the Panthers, joined by former Panther Lamont McIntosh to call the action. The game will also air live on ESPN+ with Sam Crenshaw and Rodney Turner 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, has compiled an 86-37 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 15-7 start is tied for the fifth-best start in program history. The Panthers just finished January 6-3 and since rejoining the conference are 45-13 in the month. Georgia State is 28-18 in the month of February over that same time period.

Georgia State enters play holding opponents to just 27.9 percent shooting from 3-point range which ranks No. 5 in the country and first in the Sun Belt Conference. Georgia State is also holding opponents to just 39.1 percent shooting from the floor which ranks No. 36 in the NCAA.

Offensively the Panthers average 79.0 points per game, which is ranked 24th in the country and among the top five best averages in program history. Georgia State is shooting 38.2 percent from behind the 3-point line, which stands No. 19 in the country. The Panthers are also swiping 8.8 steals per game (No. 23 in the NCAA) while forcing 17.18 turnovers per contest which ranks No. 19 in the country.

Junior Kane Williams who earned All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team honors is currently averaging 13.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game while lone senior Damon Wilson is averaging 11.4 points and a team-high 5.0 rebounds per contest.

Redshirt-sophomore Justin Roberts is second on the team averaging 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He leads the team with 39 steals this season and is second with 74 assists.

Redshirt-junior Corey Allen leads the Panthers in scoring averaging 14.8 points per game after finishing with a team-high 19 points against South Alabama. He leads GSU with 53 3-pointers which ranks sixth in the Sun Belt Conference.

Freshman Joe Jones III rounds out the starting line-up averaging 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He is shooting 50.8 percent from the floor.

Notes:

Georgia State leads the all-time series with Troy 20-18.
Redshirt-junior Chris Clerkley has been a part of 83 wins in a GSU uniform. He is just five 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 770 games dating back to Feb. 18, 1995.
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Panthers have won 149 games, the most of any NCAA Division 1 program in the state of Georgia.

Following Saturday's game Georgia State will return to the road to face rival Louisiana on Thursday in Lafayette at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN+ and can be heard on WRAS-FM 88.5.

Quick Notes:
•   Georgia State and Troy will meet for the second time in two weeks and the 29th time overall.
•   Georgia State leads the all-time series 20-18, but Troy has won seven of the last 10 including a 75-65 victory in Troy on Jan. 18.
•   GSU has won 15-straight home games dating back to last season and 23 of their last 24 home contests. The streak is currently tied for the third-longest in program history and tied for the 10th-longest in the nation.
•   Georgia State enters play in second-place in the Sun Belt Conference standings at 8-3 just 1.5 games behind Little Rock (10-2) for first place.
•   Last time out Georgia State overcame a nine-point second half deficit and scored the final six points of the game to top South Alabama 76-73 on Thursday night. It was the second-straight game GSU trailed in the second half before scoring a win.
•   GSU remains the top team in the Sun Belt Conference in the latest NET Rankings sitting at No. 109.
•   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 86-37 in Sun Belt Conference regular season games since rejoining the league in 2013-14. The Panthers finished January 6-3 and are 45-13 (.776) in the month since that time.
•   GSU ranks No. 1 in the Sun Belt in scoring offense, scoring margin, FG percentage defense, 3-point percentage, 3-point percentage defense, blocked shots, assists, steals, and 3-pointers made per game.
•   Georgia State's 15-7 start is tied for the fifth-best start in program history.
•   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. 5 in the country allowing opponents to shoot just 27.9 percent from 3-point range. GSU also ranks No. 36 in the country as opponents are shooting just 39.1 percent from the floor.
•   The Panthers are averaging 79.0 points per game, among the top 5 best averages in program history and currently ranked No. 24 in the NCAA.
•   GSU is shooting 38.2 percent from 3-point range which ranks No. 19 in the NCAA. The Panthers have also knocked down 195 3-pointers which is the 34th-most in the country.
•   Georgia State is currently forcing 17.18 turnovers per contest, the 19th-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 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
•   GSU is swiping 8.8 steals per game, ranked No. 24 in the NCAA with 193 total steals (14th in the NCAA).
•   GSU has won more games (149) 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.

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