Men's Basketball 12/15/2020 1:00:00 PM

Top 10 Programs Meet Wednesday

ATLANTA-In a showdown of two of the top 10 programs in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, Georgia State will host Mercer on Wednesday night at 6 p.m., at the GSU Sports Arena, looking to revenge a loss to the Bears last month.

Georgia State (3-1) will have had 12 days off when the ball goes up on Wednesday night since a win on the road at Charlotte Dec. 4, and a week of final exams. Mercer (6-0) comes to Atlanta following a two-point win over Georgia Southern on Sunday.

The Panthers are currently ranked No. 10 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, while the Bears have climbed up to No. 7 entering Wednesday's rematch. It will mark the 85^th meeting all-time between the two schools with GSU having won 18 of the last 22 matchups. The 85 meetings are the most Georgia State has faced another opponent.

Georgia State enters the game averaging 93.2 points per game which is ranked No. 7 in the NCAA. Redshirt-junior Eliel Nsoseme, who is averaging 13.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest, stands fourth in the nation pulling down 5.0 offense rebounds per contest.

Senior Kane Williams became the 23^rd Panther in program history to reach the 1,000-career point club last time out. He enters Wednesday just 23 points from moving into the top 20 in program history. He is already one of just eight players to record 300 or more assists in a Panther uniform.

Broadcast Information

Radio: GSU App/TuneIn Radio, PbP: Dave Cohen, Color: Lamont McIntosh
Television: ESPN+
Live Stats: GeorgiaStateSports.com

Game Notes
• Georgia State and Mercer will meet on Wednesday night for the 85th time and the second of two times this season. The 85 meetings are the most times the Panthers have faced any one opponent.
• GSU has won 18 of the last 22 meetings with the Bears despite an 86-69 defeat at Hawkins Arena last month.
• Both teams enter play in the top 10 of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. Georgia State is currently ranked No. 10, while Mercer comes in at No. 7.
• Georgia State is looking for its best five game start (4-1) to a season since beginning the 2000-01 season 7-0.
• Georgia State opened the season scoring 100 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time since the first two games of the 1991-92 season and currently rank No. 11 in the country averaging 99.0 ppg.
• The Panthers currently rank No. 7 in the country in scoring offense at 93.2 points per game. Eliel Nsoseme is No. 4 in the NCAA averaging 5.0 offense rebounds per contest, while Corey Allen is No. 11 in the nation knocking down 3.75 3-pointers per game.
• Kane Williams is one of two active Sun Belt Conference player (Marquis Eaton-Arkansas State) with career totals of at least 1,000 points (1,018), 250 rebounds (321) and 250 assists (306). There are 45 active NCAA Division I players with at least 1,000 points, 250 rebounds, and 250 assists.
• Williams, an All-Sun Belt Preseason First Team member, enters with 1,018 career points, 23 shy of Trae Goldston for 20th on GSU's all-time list. He is the 23rd Panther to reach the milestone.
• Williams has already become just the eighth player in program history to record 300 or more career assists.
• Senior Justin Roberts was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 1, a day after being named the Lou Henson National Player of the Week.
• GSU's win over Georgia Tech on opening night gave the Panthers their first win ever over an ACC opponent. The Panthers set school records for points scored (123), combined points (243), fouls (37), combined fouls (65) while playing the first triple and quadruple overtime game in school history.
• Also in the win over Tech, four Panthers (Allen, Nsoseme, Roberts, and Williams) each scored 20 or more points marking the first time in program history that feat has been accomplished in a game.
• The win over Tech also gave the Panthers three wins over Power 5 programs in the last two-plus seasons. In 2018-19, Georgia State knocked off both Georgia and Alabama.
• Georgia State knocked down 16 3-pointers against Toccoa Falls on Nov. 27, tied for the fourth-most in program history. The 37 attempts are tied for the fifth-most in program history.
• 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 seven seasons.
• During that same time, GSU has won more games (156) than any other NCAA Division I team in Georgia.
• Georgia State is under the leadership of second-year head coach Rob Lanier. His 19 wins in his first year at the helm is the third-most by a first-year head coach in program history.
• Georgia State was selected to win the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference this year in the annual preseason poll by the coaches and media.

Following Wednesday night's game, Georgia State will have a quick turnaround and host Carver College on Friday at 2 p.m., at the GSU Sports Arena.

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