What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State will open a two-game home-stand hosting first place Little Rock in the GSU Sports Arena on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
* Redshirt-junior Jeremy Hollowell is averaging 22.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in the last two games.
* Last time out, senior Markus Crider recorded his first double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
ATLANTA-Georgia State will return home and face first place Little Rock in the GSU Sports Arena on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., looking to get a win streak going with just six games remaining in the regular season.
The Panthers have lost an uncharacteristic six of their last seven games, but remain just 2.5 games out of receiving a bye in the Sun Belt Conference tournament next month.
Georgia State (13-10, 6-8 Sun Belt) dropped a hard fought 54-53 decision at Troy on Saturday. Senior Markus Crider recorded a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds and Jeremy Hollowell added 22 points for the second straight game, but a pair of shots in the final seconds did not fall which would have given the Panthers a win.
Georgia State currently sits in seventh place in the Sun Belt, but is just 2.5 games out of fourth place which would secure them a bye into the quarterfinals. The top four teams all receive a bye of the first round.
Thursday’s contest can be heard live on 1340 The Fan 3 and WRAS-FM 88.5 with Dave Cohen, now in his 33rd year as the Voice of the Panthers, being joined by 680 The Fan’s Brandon Leak. The game will also appear on ESPN3 with Sam Crenshaw and former Panther Rodney “Truck” Turner calling the action. Live statistics and live audio will be available at GeorgiaStateSports.com and on most mobile devices.
“We have had a good week of practice and this team is continuing to show it can bounce back from the toughest of losses,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “Our team is hungry to finish strong and continue to defend our home court which we pride ourselves in doing.”
Despite the loss on Saturday, Georgia State has a 38-14 mark in conference games since their return to the Sun Belt. The Panthers are also 60-23 in their last 83 games dating back to Dec. 14, 2013.
Georgia State has built its winning this year with defense. The Panthers are allowing opponents to score just 64.6 points per game, third in the Sun Belt and No. 28 in the country. Teams are shooting just 40.5 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from 3-point range against the Panthers this year.
On the other end, Georgia State has turned the ball over just 282 times, 44th-fewest in the country, while forcing 337.
The Panthers are led by Hollowell who is averaging 14.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and senior Kevin Ware, scoring 12.6 points and adding 3.7 rebounds per contest.
Crider has stepped up as of late and is now averaging 9.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He stands 10th on Georgia State’s all-time rebounding list with 522, just five behind Rodney Turner for ninth. Before the end of the season, he should established a new career games played record, as he stands just four games shy entering Thursday afternoon.
Little Rock (22-3, 12-2 Sun Belt) is led by Josh Hagins who is averaging 12.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. The Trojans have nine players who average 15 minutes or more per game and are allowing an NCAA-best 58.6 points allowed per game.
Following Thursday’s game, Georgia State remain at home and host Arkansas State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., live on ESPN3.
Quick Notes:
• Georgia State opens a two-game home-stand hosting first-place Little Rock with just six games remaining in the regular season.
• Georgia State fell to Little Rock 63-53 last month in Arkansas, but led 46-43 with just over 10 minutes to play in the game.
• In the last two games, Jeremy Hollowell is averaging 22.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest, shooting 50.0 percent from the floor.
• Senior Markus Crider recorded his first double-double of the season on Saturday at Troy, going for 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
• Head coach Ron Hunter (100 wins) needs just eight more wins to become the all-time winningest coach in program history.
• Georgia State is 35-3 in the comfy confines of the GSU Sports Arena since the start of the 2013-14 season.
• At 6-8 in the Sun Belt, the Panthers enter play Thursday in seventh place, but just 2.5 games out of fourth and a first round bye.
• Since returning to the league, GSU is 38-14 in Sun Belt regular season games, going 17-1 (2013-14), 15-5 (2014-15) and 6-8 (2015-16).
• Georgia State’s 7-2 non-conference record is the third-best in program history.
• Defensively, GSU is giving up just 64.6 points per game, No. 28 in the NCAA.
• Georgia State was one of just 20 programs in the country to have won 25 or more games in each of the last two seasons.
• Georgia State is 60-23 (.723) since Dec. 14, 2013.
• Georgia State, the two-time defending Sun Belt champions, was selected to finish second this year in the conference preseason poll.
• Markus Crider and T.J. Shipes have been a part of 78 wins, just 10 shy of the school-record set just last year by Ryann Green.
