Panthers Open Road Trip at Louisiana Thursday

ATLANTA-Winners of five of its last seven games and remaining in second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings, Georgia State will return to the road to face Louisiana in Lafayette at the Cajundome on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.

Georgia State (15-8, 8-4 Sun Belt) sits alone in second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings just 2.5 games behind Little Rock for the top spot in the league. The Panthers topped Louisiana (9-14, 4-8 Sun Belt) earlier this season in Atlanta 90-52 and are looking for an eighth win in the last nine games with the Ragin' Cajuns.

The Panthers are 16-7 in the state of Louisiana since returning to the Sun Belt in 2013-14, including a 4-1 mark in the state last season.

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 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 86-38 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 15-8 start is tied for the sixth-best start in program history. The Panthers are 28-19 in the month of February since rejoining the league despite starting this February with a loss to Troy on Saturday.

Georgia State enters play holding opponents to just 28.8 percent shooting from 3-point range which ranks No. 14 in the country and first in the Sun Belt Conference. Georgia State is also holding opponents to just 39.5 percent shooting from the floor which ranks No. 39 in the NCAA.

Offensively the Panthers average 79.0 points per game which is ranked 22nd in the country and among the top five best averages in program history. Georgia State is shooting 37.5 percent from behind the 3-point line which stands No. 26 in the country. The Panthers are also swiping 8.6 steals per game (No. 28 in the NCAA) while forcing 17.04 turnovers per contest which ranks No. 18 in the country.

Junior Kane Williams who earned All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team honors is currently averaging 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game after just missing a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds against Troy. Lone senior Damon Wilson is averaging 11.0 points and a team-high 5.1 rebounds per contest.

Redshirt-sophomore Justin Roberts is second on the team averaging 13.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He leads the team with 39 steals this season and is second with 76 assists.

Redshirt-junior Corey Allen leads the Panthers in scoring averaging 15.3 points per game after finishing with a team-high 25 points against Troy. He leads GSU with 58 3-pointers which ranks top five in the Sun Belt Conference.

Freshman Joe Jones III rounds out the starting line-up averaging 3.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He is shooting 50.8 percent from the floor.

Notes:

Georgia State leads the all-time series with Troy 13-6.
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 771 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 Thursday's game Georgia State will remain on the road and face ULM on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN+ and can be heard on the GSU Mobile App.

Quick Notes
•   Georgia State and Louisiana will meet for the second time this year and 20th time overall.
•   Georgia State leads the all-time series 13-6 including an impressive 90-52 win in Atlanta last month.
•   Georgia State has combined to go 16-7 in the state of Louisiana since rejoining the league including a 4-1 mark last year.
•   Georgia State enters play in second-place in the Sun Belt Conference standings at 8-4 just 2.5 games behind Little Rock (11-2) for first place.
•   Last time out GSU saw its 15-game home court winning streak snapped with an 84-78 loss to Troy.
•   The Panthers already have three wins this season when trailing by 14 or more points, including come-from-behind wins of 15 (California Baptist) and 14 (Texas State and Georgia Southern).
•   GSU remains the top team in the Sun Belt Conference in the latest NET Rankings sitting at No. 117.
•   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 86-38 in Sun Belt Conference regular season games since rejoining the league in 2013-14. The Panthers are 28-19 in the month since that time.
•   Georgia State's 15-8 start is the tied for the sixth-best 23-game start in program history.
•   GSU ranks No. 1 in the Sun Belt in scoring offense, FG percentage defense, 3-point percentage, 3-point percentage defense, and steals.
•   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. 14 in the country allowing opponents to shoot just 28.8 percent from 3-point range. GSU also ranks No. 39 in the country as opponents are shooting just 39.5 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. 22 in the NCAA.
•   GSU is shooting 37.5 percent from 3-point range which ranks No. 26 in the NCAA. The Panthers have also knocked down 204 3-pointers which is the 39th-most in the country.
•   Georgia State is currently forcing 17.04 turnovers per contest, the 18th-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, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. He just missed a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds against Troy.
•   GSU is swiping 8.6 steals per game, ranked No. 28 in the NCAA with 197 total steals (17th 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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