Panthers Ring in New Year by Hosting South Alabama

GEORGIA STATE (7-6, 0-1) vs. SOUTH ALABAMA (6-7, 0-1)
Saturday, Dec. 31 | 2 p.m. | GSU Convocation Center

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THE TIPOFF: Georgia State plays its final game of 2022 on New Year's Even, hosting South Alabama Saturday at 2 p.m. at the GSU Convocation Center.

> The Panthers are coming off a 63-47 loss to James Madison in Thursday's Sun Belt Conference opener. South Alabama also dropped its first Sun Belt game, falling 64-50 at Georgia Southern.

> The Panthers (7-5) ended non-conference play with back-to-back wins over Rhode Island (75-66), in which they shot a season-best 12-for-25 from 3-point range, and Toccoa Falls (91-52) as Joe Jones III came off the bench with career highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

> The Panthers are 7-4 at the GSU Convocation Center.

> Sophomore guard Dwon Odom is the Panthers' leading scorer with 15.5 ppg and second-leading rebounder at 5.5 pg. He also leads the team in assists (46/3.5) and steals (15) and is second in blocked shots (10).

> Odom, the No. 9 scorer in the Sun Belt Conference, has reached 20 points four times, including a career-high 27 in the win over UNC Asheville and 24 vs. Belmont.

> Sophomore forward Ja'Heim Hudson averages 9.4 points and leads GSU in rebounding (8.1/6th in Sun Belt) and blocked shots (13).

> Georgia State features three players averaging in double figures: Dwon Odom (15.5), Brenden Tucker (10.5) and Evan Johnson, (10.5) while Ja'Heim Hudson (9.6) and Jamaine Mann (9.6) are just off the pace.

SERIES NOTES: Georgia State holds a 20-17 lead in the series with South Alabama, including an18-15 mark in Sun Belt Conference games (regular season and tournament, including GSU's original stint in the league).

> Last season, each team won on its homecourt. South Alabama won 74-65 in Mobile, and the Panthers answered with a 69-52 win at the GSU Sports Arena.

> Since rejoining the Sun Belt for the 2013-14 season, Georgia State has won 15 of the 19 games against South Alabama, including an 8-1 advantage in home games.

> South Alabama's last win in Atlanta was a 70-67 victory at the GSU Sports Arena in 2020-21. Before that, the Jaguars had not won in Atlanta since 1981-82.

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:

> 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.

> The Panthers lead all Sun Belt teams in overall wins (194) and conference wins (107), ahead of Louisiana (188/98).

> Since 2013-14, GSU has a .653 winning percentage in all games, including a .673 mark in Sun Belt contests.

CHARITY CASE: Georgia State ranks No. 2 in the Sun Belt in free throw shooting at 72.7 percent.

> Individually, Dwon Odom is fifth in the Sun Belt in free throws made, fifth in attempts and No. 4 in percentage at 81.4 percent.

STEPPING IN: With injuries juggling the lineup early in the season, two Panthers have stepped in and stepped up.

> Kalik Brooks, the former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship prior to the season, has started six games and is averaging 5.2 points and 2.7 rebounds. He is shooting 44 percent (15-34) from 3-point range

> Brooks averaged 9.3 points in the three-game Capitol Classic, including a career-high 12 points vs. UNC Asheville. He contributed eight points at Auburn, nine vs. Rhode Island, and nine last game vs. Toccoa Falls.

> Sophomore guard Danny Stubbs, who played only 18 minutes all of last season, is averaging 4.5 points while playing about 22 minutes a game. He scored a career-high 16 points in the win over UNC Asheville, including 6-of-7 free throws in the final minute to help seal the win, and then added 11 points vs. Belmont and 10 vs. Middle Georgia.

CLOSE CALLS: Georgia State lost three non-conference games by a total of five points. The Panthers fell 62-61 to Eastern Kentucky on a half-court, buzzer-beater and 59-57 to Georgia Tech on a basket with four seconds left. In the 68-66 loss to Belmont, GSU had the ball with a chance to tie the game or take the lead in the final seconds.

> In both of its losses to Power 5 teams, Georgia State held a second-half lead.

> In a 59-57 loss to Georgia Tech at the GSU Convocation Center, Georgia State built a 42-35 lead with 12 minutes to play. Tech took its first lead of the second half with six minutes left, and GSU trailed by eight with three minutes to go but rallied. The Panthers tied the game on Brenden Tucker's 3-point play with 26 seconds left, but Tech managed the winning basket with four seconds to play.

> At No. 19/18 Auburn, the Panthers built a six point lead late in the first half and held the advantage until 13 minutes left. GSU stayed within striking distance until the end, trailing 59-54 with four minutes left and 69-63 with 42 seconds to play before falling 72-64.

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 231-131.

> Georgia State's 231 victories are more than Mercer, the next best team in the state with 219 wins and a .570 winning percentage during that time.

> The Panthers also easily outpace Georgia Southern (193), Georgia (185), Georgia Tech (177) and Kennesaw State (90).

> 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).

843 AND COUNTING: Georgia State has made at least one 3-point field goal in 843 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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Players Mentioned

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

#23 Joe Jones III: C; 6' 9"; Freshman

#15 Ja'Heim Hudson: F; 6' 7"; Sophomore

#0 Evan Johnson: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#20 Danny Stubbs: G; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#1 Dwon Odom: G; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#5 Brenden Tucker: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#2 Jamaine Mann: G; 6' 6"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

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

#23 Joe Jones III
: 6' 9"; Freshman
: C

#15 Ja'Heim Hudson
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: F

#0 Evan Johnson
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#20 Danny Stubbs
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Dwon Odom
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: G

#5 Brenden Tucker
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#2 Jamaine Mann
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: G