Panthers Host Belmont for Sunday Matinee

GEORGIA STATE (4-2) vs. BELMONT (3-3)
Sunday, Nov. 27 | 2 p.m. | GSU Convocation Center

COVERAGE: ESPN+

THE TIPOFF: Georgia State continues its season-opening, eight-game homestand by hosting Belmont Sunday at 2 p.m. at the GSU Convocation Center.

> The Panthers (4-2) have won three of their last four games, including a 74-68 win over UNC Asheville last time out in the third game of the Capitol Classic, despite playing without two injured starters.

> Sophomore guard Dwon Odom, the transfer from Xavier, is the Panthers' leading scorer with 18.3 ppg and second-leading rebounder at 6.2. He is seventh in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring.

> The Panthers have been idle since last Sunday's win over UNC Asheville, when Odom scored a career-high 27 points.He played more than 39 minutes and hit 10-of-18 shots from the field and 7-for-7 at the free throw line. He also contributed seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

> Odom was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Capitol Classic as he averaged 21 points and seven rebounds for the three games.

> Playing its first season in the Missouri Valley Conference, Belmont (3-3) has won two in a row. Guard Ben Shepard leads the Bruins with 21.2, points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.

CHARITY CASE: Georgia State ranks No. 17 in D-1 in free throw shooting at 78.9 percent.

> The Panthers have been even better over the last four games at .882 (60-for-58).

> Individually, Dwon Odom leads the Sun Belt in free throws made and attempted. He is No. 3 in the Sun Belt and No. 23 in the nation at 94.1 percent (32-for-34).

STEPPING IN: With two starters out due to injury the last two games, two Panthers stepped in and stepped up to help Georgia State earn victories over Texas A&M-Commerce and UNC Asheville.

> Kalik Brooks, the former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship prior to the season, averaged 9.3 points in the three-game Capitol Classic, including a career-high 12 points in the win over UNC Asheville.

> Sophomore Danny Stubbs, who played only 18 minutes all of last season, had 16 points against Asheville. He hit 6-of-7 free throws in the final minute to help seal the win.

HOT TAKES ON HUDSON: Sophomore forward Ja'Heim Hudson scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to tie his career best in the Panthers' two-point loss to Georgia Tech. He went 10-for-13 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. In a five-minute stretch of the second half, he scored 10 of GSU's 12 points to help the Panthers build a seven-point lead.

> Hudson is the Panthers' second-leading scorer at 11.7 points per game while leading the team with 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game and a .558 field goal percentage.

ODOM IN THE CLUTCH: Georgia State Dwon Odom scored 16 of his career-high 21 points after halftime in the Panthers' 85-83 overtime win against Mercer.

> The Panthers trailed 77-73 with less than a minute in regulation when Odom hit two free throws to cut the deficit to two with 46 seconds left. He rebounded Mercer's miss with 20 seconds to go to set up his game-tying jumper with one second left to force overtime.

> Odom went 11-for-12 from the free throw line, including 10-for-10 in the second half and overtime.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Georgia State is making good use of its new home at the GSU Convocation Center as the Panthers open the season with eight straight home games. Georgia State's first road game is scheduled for Dec. 4 at Northeastern.

> Eight games equals the longest streak of home games in program history, matching an eight-game string in December-January of the 1983-84 season. Since then, the last time the Panthers played even five straight home games was the start of the 2005-06 season.

GSU vs. BELMONT: Georgia State and Belmont are meeting for the first time since 2004-05, when both were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The last meeting was a 67-61 win by Belmont in the 2005 A-Sun Tournament.

> The Bruins have won three in a row and lead the series 6-5. Georgia State's last win was a 72-70 overtime victory on Feb. 28, 2004 in Nashville.

> Both teams have been in two different conferences since then. Georgia State moved to the Colonial Athletic Association and then to the current Sun Belt Conference in 2013-14. Belmont made a stop in the Ohio Valley Conference before joining the MIssouri Valley this year.

NEW ERA: First-year head coach Jonas Hayes takes over a Georgia State program that is coming off a berth in the 2022 NCAA Tournament as the Sun Belt Conference champion and is the winningest program in the conference and the state of Georgia over the last decade.

> The Atlanta native grew up just minutes from the Georgia State campus, playing at Douglass High School and then the University of Georgia.

> Hayes spent the last four seasons at Xavier, first as assistant coach and then as interim head coach. He was elevated on March 16, 2022 and led the Musketeers to four straight wins, defeating Florida, Vanderbilt and St. Bonaventure before a 73-72 victory over Texas A&M in the NIT championship game at Madison Square Garden.

PRIDE OF THE PEACH STATE: Georgia State is the winningest Division I college basketball team in the state of Georgia since the 2011-12 season.

> Since the start of 2011-12, Georgia State has won 64 percent of its games with a record of 228-127.

> Georgia State's 228 victories are more than Mercer, the next best team in the state with 214 wins and a .571 winning percentage during that time.

> The Panthers also easily outpace Georgia Southern (189), Georgia (179), Georgia Tech (173) and Kennesaw State (86).

> Georgia State has made four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last decade; the other five Division I programs have combined for three NCAA appearances in that time (Georgia-1, Georgia Tech-1, Mercer-1).

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Players Mentioned

#21 Kalik Brooks: G; 6' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#21 Kalik Brooks
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: G

Players Mentioned

#21 Kalik Brooks

Players Mentioned

#21 Kalik Brooks