GEORGIA STATE (9-11, 4-5) vs. APP STATE (17-4, 8-1)
Thursday, Feb. 1 | 7 p.m. | GSU Convocation Center 

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THE TIPOFF: Georgia State returns home to host Sun Belt Conference leader Appalachian State Thursday at 7 p.m. at the GSU Convocation Center.

> The Panthers, coming off four straight road games, will then face second-place Troy less than 48 hours later (Saturday at 4 p.m.).

> Dwon Odom scored a career-high 30 points Saturday at Coastal Carolina for the first 30-point game by a Panthers since 2019. That followed a 21-point effort vs. Marshall, giving him 26.5 ppg for the last two games.

> Odom, the Preseason All-Sun Belt guard and GSU's top returning scorer, is averaging 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds (second on team) and 4.5 assists per game. He is third in the Sun Belt in assists and first in assist-to-turnover ratio at +2.7.

> Odom is the only Sun Belt player who is averaging at least four assists AND five rebounds per game. He has three double-figure rebounding games, and he approached a triple-double vs. Old Dominion with 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists

> Toneari Lane leads the Sun Belt in 3-point percentage (.343) while ranking second with 2.9 3-pointers per game. He is averaging a team-leading 15.6 ppg in Sun Belt games.

> Jay'Den Turner leads the Panthers and ranks No. 4 in the Sun Belt with 9.3 rebounds per game (No. 36 in DI), along with 9.9 points. His 11.1 rebounds in Sun Belt games lead the conference. 

> Turner has grabbed double-figure rebounds in seven of the last nine games. He had six straight double-figure efforts to open Sun Belt play, a streak that is the longest by a Panther since 1990..

> Four of the Panthers' top five scorers are transfers: Lucas Taylor (14.5), Toneari Lane (13.8), Jay'Den Turner (9.9) and Leslie Nkereuwem (7.4). Dwon Odom is third on the team at 12.5 ppg.

> Lucas Taylor is the Panthers' leading scorer at 14.5 points per game, which ranks 10th in the Sun Belt. Taylor scored a career-high 28 points against Georgia Southern. In his second game in a GSU uniform, the Wake Forest transfer scored 27 points in the 77-70 win at Western Michigan, and he added 22 points in the win at South Alabama. 

> In Georgia State's three straight wins over South Alabama, Old Dominion and Georgia Southern, Toneari Lane averaged 20.3 points while going 14-for-33 (43 percent) from 3-point range. Lane scored 20 points at South Alabama (6-for-12 3P) and followed with 23 points (5-for-12 3P) vs. ODU and 18 vs. Georgia Southern. Earlier this season, he also scored 23 points, his career high, in each of the back-to-back wins over Little Rock.

> Senior Brenden Tucker has scored in double figures in four straight games, averaged 13.3 ppg, including a season-high 19 points at Georgia Southern. He added 12 points at App State and 11 at Marshall and 11 at Coastal Carolina.

> Georgia State leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 39 in Division I in free throw percentage at .755. Dwon Odom is second in the Sun Belt at .857. Lucas Taylor is second on the team at .833.

SERIES NOTES: App State holds a 12-10 edge in the series. After playing in 1988-89 and 1989-90, both App State wins, the teams did not meet again until the Mountaineers joined the Sun Belt in 2014-15. Since then, the series is knotted at 10-10.

> App State has won three in a row, including a 76-68 win in Boone two weeks ago. Lucas Taylor and Brenden Tucker led GSU with 12 points each.

> App State won both meetings last year, 71-59 in Boone and 78-52 in Atlanta, but Georgia State won the previous two meetings.