What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State will look to even the season series with Arkansas State on Saturday at the GSU Sports Arena at 2:30 p.m.
* The Panthers are allowing just 64.4 points per game this season, ranked No. 19 in the NCAA.
* The game will air live on ESPN3, along with 1340 The Fan 3 and GSU Mobile App.
ATLANTA-Georgia State will look to even the season series with Arkansas State on Saturday, hosting the Red Wolves in the GSU Sports Arena at 2:30 p.m.
The Panthers have lost an uncharacteristic seven of their last eight games, including a 75-69 overtime decision at Arkansas State last month in which Georgia State led for most of the game.
Georgia State (13-11, 6-9 Sun Belt) dropped a hard fought 57-49 decision to first place Little Rock on Thursday night. The Panthers had an 11-point lead early in the second half, but could not hold on against the team ranked No. 3 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll.
Georgia State currently sits in eighth place in the Sun Belt, but just two games out of fifth place with five games to play.
Saturday’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.
“Defensively, I thought we once again played well on Thursday night,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “However, we have to figure out ways to score. If you hold an opponent to 57 points, you should win the game. We have a very short turnaround to play Arkansas State, but I know our guys are hungry to get back on the court and get this thing going in the right direction.”
Despite the loss on Thursday, Georgia State has a 38-15 mark in conference games since their return to the Sun Belt. The Panthers are also 60-24 in their last 84 games dating back to Dec. 14, 2013.
Even with the offensive struggles, Georgia State has kept themselves in games with its defense. The Panthers are allowing opponents to score just 64.4 points per game, second in the Sun Belt and No. 19 in the country. Teams are shooting just 40.4 percent from the floor and 31.7 percent from 3-point range against the Panthers this year.
On the other end, Georgia State has turned the ball over just 294 times, 50th-fewest in the country, while forcing 347.
The Panthers are led by redshirt-junior Hollowell who is averaging 14.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and senior Kevin Ware, scoring 12.2 points and adding 3.8 rebounds per contest. Ware leads the team with 75 assists and 33 steals this season.
Crider has stepped up as of late and is now averaging 8.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He stands eighth on Georgia State’s all-time rebounding list with 568, just 15 behind Keven Davis for seventh. Before the end of the season, he should established a new career games played record, as he stands just three games shy entering Saturday afternoon.
Arkansas State (11-15, 7-8 Sun Belt) is led by Anthony Livingston who is averaging 15.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Devin Carter leads the Red Wolves with a 17.2 points per game scoring average. Arkansas State is the only team in the Sun Belt to have four players averaging in double figures in points per game.
Following Saturday’s game, Georgia State go on the road and travel to Statesboro to face in-state rival Georgia Southern on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN2 as a part of Rivalry Week.
Quick Notes
• Georgia State closes a two-game home-stand hosting Arkansas State with just five games remaining in the regular season.
• Georgia State fell to Arkansas State 75-69 in overtime last month despite leading for most of the game.
• In the last three games, Jeremy Hollowell is averaging 18.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest.
• 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 35-4 in the comfy confines of the GSU Sports Arena since the start of the 2013-14 season.
• At 6-9 in the Sun Belt, the Panthers enter play Saturday in eighth place, but just two games out of fifth place.
• Since returning to the league, GSU is 38-15 in Sun Belt regular season games, going 17-1 (2013-14), 15-5 (2014-15) and 6-9 (2015-16).
• Georgia State’s 7-2 non-conference record is the third-best in program history.
• Defensively, GSU is giving up just 64.4 points per game, No. 19 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 60-24 (.714) 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.
