Men's Basketball 1/15/2021 10:00:00 AM

Men's Basketball Hosts Coastal Carolina Saturday

ATLANTA-After postponing three games due to COVID-19 protocols, the Georgia State men's basketball team, off to one of his best starts in program history, will return to the court on Saturday hosting Coastal Carolina at 2 p.m., at the GSU Sports Arena.

The first of the two-game series originally scheduled for Friday night was postponed allowing the Panthers to return to the court for a day of practice before Saturday's normally scheduled game. Both programs are looking at alternatives, if any, to make up the first of the two-game series.

Georgia State (7-2, 1-1 Sun Belt) split its league opening series with Coastal Carolina (9-2, 3-1 Sun Belt) the first weekend of January. The Panthers are off to the second-best start in program history, only behind the 8-1 nine-game start to the 2000-01 season.

Over the first nine games, the Panthers have scored 100 or more points three times, already matching the most times scoring over the century mark in a single season. The Panthers are averaging 88.2 points per game, ranked No. 8 in the NCAA, and have the sixth-best assist/turnover ratio (1.71) in the country.

The Panthers are currently ranked No. 9 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, the highest of any Sun Belt Conference team. Coastal Carolina enters the game ranked No. 22.

Senior Corey Allen leads the Panthers averaging 15.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He is making 3.56 3-pointers per game, ranked No. 7 in the nation, while shooting 54.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Junior Justin Roberts is averaging 14.8 points per game, while senior Kane Williams, who became the 23^rd Georgia State player to score 1,000 career points earlier this year, is averaging 13.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest.

Redshirt-junior Eliel Nsoseme is averaged a double-double of 13.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. He has recorded double-doubles in two of his last three games played.

Broadcast Information

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

Game Notes
• Georgia State, the most successful team in the Sun Belt since returning to the league for the 2013-14 season, hosts Coastal Carolina for two games. It will mark the third-straight games played against the Chanticleers.
• The Panthers are returning to action following the Troy series being postponed due to multiple COVID-19 positive cases among Tier 1 members of the program.
• Georgia State enters the weekend ranked No. 9 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, the highest ranked Sun Belt Conference team in the poll. Coastal Carolina is ranked No. 22 in the poll this week.
• GSU is off to its second-best start in program history (7-2), only behind the 8-1 start of the 2000-01 season.
• Georgia State has scored 100 or more points in three games this year, matching the school record for times going over the century mark in a season (1988-89 and 1991-92).
• The Panthers are currently ranked No. 8 in the NCAA averaging 88.2 points per game, while holding an assist/turnover ratio of 1.71 which ranks No. 6 in the NCAA. GSU averages 18.0 assists per game which ranks 16th in the country.
• Eliel Nsoseme is No. 4 in the NCAA averaging 4.57 offensive rebounds per contest and No. 16 averaging 10.6 rebounds per game. He grabbed 20 rebounds against Mercer and has recorded double-doubles in two of his last three games played.
• Corey Allen is No. 7 in the nation knocking down 3.56 3-pointers per game. He has drilled 32 so far this year, 35th-most in the country, while shooting 54.2 percent from deep (No. 5 in the NCAA).
• Allen is currently ranked among the top 40 active scorers in the nation with 1,423 points.
• Kane Williams is one of four active Sun Belt players with career totals of at least 1,000 points (1,079), 250 rebounds (332) and 250 assists (334). There are 59 active NCAA Division I players with those milestones.
• Williams, an All-Sun Belt Preseason First Team member, enters with 1,079 career points, 55 shy of Ryan Harrow for 16th on GSU's all-time list. He is the 23rd Panther to reach the milestone.
• 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 Georgia State's win over Carver, the Panthers set school records for field goals made (51) and assists (34) while seven players scored in double figures, tying a school record.
• 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 (160) 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.
• GSU was selected to win the East Division of the Sun Belt this year in the annual preseason poll by the coaches and media.

Following the game this weekend, Georgia State will return to the road and travel to Boone, N.C., to face Appalachian State on Jan. 22 and 23.

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