Championship Monday: Panthers Face Louisiana for Sun Belt Conference Title Tonight

PENSACOLA, Fla.-Looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time since 2015, the No. 3-seed Georgia State men's basketball team will face off against the No. 8-seed Louisiana on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET, in the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Championship Game at the Pensacola Bay Center.

Georgia State (17-10) has won nine-straight games and 11 of the last 12 games to remain one of the hottest teams in the country. The nine-game streak is the fourth-longest in program history and the seventh-longest in the country.

The Panthers will be facing Louisiana (16-14) for the third time in the championship game as the two teams split a pair of previous match-ups in 2014 and 2015. Overall, this will mark the fifth time and second-straight year facing off in the conference tournament where the Panthers own a 3-1 advantage in the series.

The Panthers have won 10 of the last 11 neutral court conference tournament games and are making their sixth appearance in the Sun Belt Championship Game since 2014.

Tournament Highlights

Georgia State earned a 65-62 win over No. 6-seed Arkansas State in the tournament quarterfinals. The Panthers followed it up with a 71-66 victory over Appalachian State in the semifinals on Sunday night.
Senior Corey Allen had his best game of the season on Sunday night going for 29 points (6-of-9 from 3-point range), while adding eight assists and six rebounds. The eight assists and six 3-pointers are tied for the most by a Panther in a conference tournament game.
Senior Kane Williams scored a team-high 23 points on Saturday against Arkansas State, but it was his steal with less than five seconds to play that secured the win.
Senior Justin Roberts became the 25^th player in program history to score 1,000 or more points in a Panther uniform on Saturday night. He is one of three players on the team (Allen and Williams) with at least 1,000 career points.
Eliel Nsoseme has notched his fourth and fifth double-doubles of the season and 11^th of his career. Nsoseme has recorded a double-double in four of five Sun Belt Conference Tournament games he has played in.

Broadcast Information

Radio: WRAS-FM 88.5; PbP: Dave Cohen
Television: ESPN2; PbP: Mike Morgan, Color: Mark Wise

Game Notes
• Georgia State, the most successful team in the Sun Belt since returning to the league for the 2013-14 season with 107 league wins during that time, missed five games this year due to COVID-19 protocols.
• Georgia State entered the Sun Belt Tournament as a No. 3-seed for the first time. Overall, this is the fifth time the Panthers have been a No. 3 seed in a conference tournament, first since 1999, and have combined for a 4-4 record as the seed.
• GSU is 35-34 all-time in conference tournaments, but 12-5 since returning to the Sun Belt for the 2013-14 season.
• Georgia State and Louisiana will be meeting in the conference tournament for a second year in a row and for the fifth time in the championship game. The Panthers own a 3-1 mark against the Ragin' Cajuns when playing for the title.
• Monday's game marks the 10th conference tournament championship game in program history for the Panthers (5-4).
• Georgia State is 5-7 on ESPN2 since the start of the 2013-14 season, with all of those being road or neutral court games.
• Georgia State is 12-7 all-time in conference championships in the state of Florida, winning a conference championship in 1991 in DeLand which led to the Panthers' first NCAA Tournament appearance.
• GSU has won 9-straight games which is the 7th-longest winning streak in the country. It is also the fourth-longest winning streak in program history. Georgia State has also won 11 of its last 12 games with its lone loss coming by just four points.
• Georgia State has won seven-straight road/neutral games which is the fourth-longest streak in the country.
• Georgia State has a 25-12 (.676) record in the month of March since the start of the 2013-14 season.
• Super seniors Corey Allen and Kane Williams earned All-Sun Belt Third Team honors on Monday as announced by the league office. It marks the second time each of them have been honored with postseason awards.
• Three of Georgia State's Top 25 scorers all-time are currently on the team. Kane Williams is in third with 1,567 points, Corey Allen is No. 19 with 1,100 points, and Justin Roberts is 25th with 1,008 career points. Allen became the 24th Panther to score 1,000 career points on Feb. 10, and Roberts became No. 25 on Saturday.
• Allen has 1,951 career points scored (two years at UD) which is among the top 30 career active scorers in the country. He is also among the top 15 active 3-point shooters.
• Kane Williams is one of just two players in Sun Belt Conference history to combine for 1,500 points, 450 rebounds, 450 assists, and 200 steals. The other is former UT Arlington star Erick Neal.
• With the win on Dec. 6, senior Williams became the all-time wins leader in GSU program history moving ahead of Ryann Green and Chris Clerkley. He now has been a part of 100 wins in four-plus seasons.
• Williams has now moved into the top 20 in Sun Belt Conference history with 487 assists. He is also in the top 5 all-time in free throws made and just four free throw attempts shy of the top 5.
• Williams broke Terrence Brandon's school record of 531 career free throw attempts last year and now has 705. He broke R.J. Hunter's school record of 448 made free throws on Jan. 20 and now has 523 makes.
• Jalen Thomas is 6th on GSU's all-time blocked shots list (112), more than halfway to Zavian Smith's record of 182.
• GSU is 14th in the country is turnovers forced (16.81) and 6th in turnover margin at +4.8. GSU also ranks No. 14 with 9.1 steals per game, which is first in the Sun Belt. Leading GSU is Williams who is ranked No. 48 (1.93 spg) in the NCAA.
• The Panthers rank No. 38 in the nation in fewest turnovers (325) and 23rd in fewest fouls (425).
• Jalen Thomas is ranked No. 132 in the country averaging 2.46 offensive rebounds per contest, which is helping GSU to 13.37 offensive rebounds per game which is ranked 8th in the country.
• GSU has won 56-straight games dating back to 1999 when scoring 90 or more points.
• Georgia State is 12-2 this season when scoring 70 or more points.
• Since 2013-14, GSU has won more games (186) than any other NCAA Division I team in Georgia.

With a win on Monday, Georgia State would advance to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history and fourth since 2015.

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