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Men's Basketball

First Regular-Season Games in Convocation Center Monday

The Georgia State basketball programs play their first regular-season games in the new GSU Convocation Center with a men's and women's doubleheader on Monday, Nov. 7. The GSU women host Agnes Scott at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Panther men against Coastal Georgia at 8 p.m. 

Both games will air on ESPN+.

NEW ERA: Head coach Jonas Hayes makes his debut on the GSU sideline as his Panthers open the 2022-23 regular season by hosting Coastal Georgia (1-2).
    
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.
 
NEW DIGS: The new home court for Panther basketball is the 7,500-seat GSU Convocation Center, an impressive multi-purpose facility that is a key addition to the Georgia State campus for hosting graduation, freshman convocation, academic programs, performances and other events in addition to basketball games. Located at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Fulton Street in the Summerhill neighborhood, just a few hundred yards from Center Parc Stadium, the new venue is quite an upgrade from the 3,854-seat GSU Sports Arena that housed the program from 1973 through last season. 

KEEP IT ROLLING: Georgia State enters the 2022-23 season having won nine of its last 10 games, including the final seven regular-season contests of 2021-22.

SEASON OPENERS: Georgia State has won its season opener in nine straight seasons, since opening the 2012-13 with a 74-55 loss at Duke.

EXHIBITION RECAP: Brenden Tucker scored 20 points and Dwon Odom had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds as Georgia State earned a 68-57 victory over Morehouse before a lively crowd of 1,928 in its exhibition game at the new Georgia State University Convocation Center. 
    
Odom, Tucker and Jamaine Mann, three transfers brought to GSU by Hayes and his staff, all were in the starting lineup and combined for 43 points and 23 rebounds.
    
Tucker, the transfer from the College of Charleston, went 9-for-16 from the field. Odom, who played under Hayes at Xavier, added six assists to his double-double, while Vanderbilt transfer Mann scored 13 points. Sophomore Ja'Heim Hudson was the fourth Panther in double figures with 12 points and six rebounds off the bench.

TRANSFER TRIO: Georgia State welcomes three highly-regarded transfers in guards Dwon Odom (Xavier), Brenden Tucker (College of Charleston) and Jamaine Mann (Vanderbilt). All three return home to the Atlanta area where they played their high school basketball. 

> Odom, who attended St. Francis in Alpharetta, played two seasons at Xavier under Jonas Hayes. He averaged 6.4 points and 2.5 assists for his two seasons while shooting 55 percent from the field. Odom scored 18 points vs. Texas A&M to help Hayes and Xavier win the 2002 NIT title game.

> Tucker, a first-team all-state selection as a senior at Dacula High School, played three seasons at the College of Charleston. He averaged 11.3 ppg and 2.4 rpg and shot 39 percent from 3-point range last season.

> Mann was a two-time all-state prep player  who led Dutchtown High to the 2020 Class AAAAA state title. He transfers from Vanderbilt, where he averaged 4.6 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 48 percent from the field in 2021-22.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: Georgia State must replace its top six scorers from a year ago, as well as its top two rebounders, top three in assists, top five in steals and top two in blocked shots. In particular, last year's senior quartet of guards Kane Williams, Corey Allen and Justin Roberts and center Eliel Nsosome combined for 42 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists per game.
    
In addition to eight returning letterwinners, led by guard Evan Johnson and forward Ja'Heim Hudson, the Panthers also welcome three highly-regarded transfers in guards Dwon Odom (Xavier), Brenden Tucker (College of Charleston) and Jamaine Mann (Vanderbilt). All three return home to the Atlanta area where they played their high school basketball. Center Edward Nnamoko, a 6-10 freshman from Lagos, Nigeria, should also make an impact.

2021-22 SEASON REVIEW: 18-11, 9-5 Sun Belt (3rd)
Sun Belt Conference Champions
NCAA West Regional (l. Gonzaga)

> Led by the veteran quartet of Kane Williams, Corey Allen, Justin Roberts and Eliel Nsoseme, Georgia State won its fourth Sun Belt Conference tournament title to earn its sixth NCAA Tournament berth and  fourth since 2015.

> The Panthers won 10 straight games in February and March, capped by wins over Arkansas State, App State and Louisiana in the Sun Belt Tournament. Facing No. 1 seed Gonzaga, Georgia State fell 92-73 in the NCAA West Regional. 

SHINING IN THE SUN BELT: Since returning to the Sun Belt Conference for the 2013-14 season, Georgia State has been the league's most successful program:

> The Panthers lead all Sun Belt teams in overall wins (187) and conference wins (107). Since 2013-14, GSU has a .658 winning percentage in all games, including a .677 mark in Sun Belt contests.

> GSU has won four Sun Belt Tournament titles since 2014 (2015, 1018, 2019, 2022). No other program has more than one in that time.

> Georgia State has finished first or second in the league standings in six of the last nine years, including regular-season titles in 2014, 2015 and 2019 and the East Division crown in 2021.

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 224-125.

> Georgia State's 224 victories are 12 more than Mercer, the next best team in the state with 212 wins and a .538 winning percentage during that time.

> The Panthers also easily outpace Georgia Southern (186), Georgia (175), Georgia Tech (170) and Kennesaw State (82).

> 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).

832 AND COUNTING: Georgia State has made at least one 3-point field goal in 832 straight games, dating back to the 1994-95 season. The last team to hold the Panthers without a trey was Stetson on Feb. 18, 1995. The streak is among the top 25 in the nation.



 
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