What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State will face in-state rival Georgia Southern Tuesday night at 6 p.m. live on ESPN2.
* Jeremy Hollowell has stepped up over the last four games averaging 18.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest during that stretch.
* Georgia State has won three-straight in the series against Georgia Southern. The Panthers have also won their last two games on ESPN2.
ATLANTA-Georgia State will look to build momentum off of Saturday’s win facing in-state rival Georgia Southern on Tuesday night at 6 p.m., in Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro. The Panthers have won three-straight in the series and trail the Eagles by just one game in the Sun Belt Conference standings.
Just like last year’s Sun Belt tournament finale between the two programs, the game will air live on ESPN2 with Roy Philpott and Craig Robinson calling the action.
The contest can also be heard live on 1340 The Fan 3 and 1230 The Fan 3 with Dave Cohen, now in his 33rd year as the Voice of the Panthers, being joined by 680 The Fan’s Brandon Leak. Live statistics and live audio will be available at GeorgiaStateSports.com and on most mobile devices.
Georgia State (14-11, 7-9 Sun Belt) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 69-61 win over Arkansas State on Saturday in the GSU Sports Arena. Jeremy Hollowell led the Panthers with 18 points, while Isaiah Williams came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points and dish out six assists.
“This team knows that there is still a lot to play for this season,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “Our offense really started to play better on Saturday. I really like some of the adjustments we have made. We know that our defense can only carry us so far and our offense needs to continue to get better down the stretch run.”
With the win, Georgia State improved to 39-15 in conference games since their return to the Sun Belt, a stretch that has included two-straight conference titles. The Panthers are also 61-24 in their last 84 games dating back to Dec. 14, 2013.
Georgia State has kept themselves in games with its defense. The Panthers are allowing opponents to score just 64.1 points per game, third in the Sun Belt and No. 21 in the country. Teams are shooting just 40.0 percent from the floor and 31.6 percent from 3-point range against the Panthers this year, both among the top 50 marks in the NCAA.
The Panthers are led by Hollowell who is averaging 14.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Over the last four games, he has improved those averages to 18.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. Senior Kevin Ware is scoring 12.2 points and adding 3.8 rebounds per contest, while leading the team with 77 assists and 33 steals this season.
Senior Markus Crider has stepped up as of late and is now averaging 8.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He stands eighth on Georgia State’s all-time rebounding list with 570, just 13 behind Keven Davis for seventh. He will play in his 125th career game on Tuesday night, just one shy of Jihad Ali’s school record of 126.
Georgia Southern (12-14, 8-8 Sun Belt) is led by freshman Tookie Brown who is averaging 18.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. The Eagles have knocked down 231 3-pointers this season and are shooting 41.0 percent from beyond the arc. Four Eagles have knocked down at least 37 3-pointers already this season.
Following Tuesday’s game, Georgia State will return home for the final time this season hosting Appalachian State at 2:30 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena. It will mark the final home game for seniors Jalen Brown, Markus Crider, T.J. Shipes and Kevin Ware.
Quick Notes
• Georgia State faces in-state rival Georgia Southern for the second time this year after earning a 69-66 ot win on Jan. 19, in Atlanta.
• Georgia State has won three-straight in the series with the Eagles and stand just one game back of Southern for fifth place in the Sun Belt.
• In the first match-up, senior T.J. Shipes recorded his first double-double of the year with career highs of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
• In the last four games, Jeremy Hollowell is averaging 18.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest.
• Georgia State won both appearances on ESPN2 last season, earning a 53-41 win over Texas State and a 38-36 victory over Georgia Southern.
• Head coach Ron Hunter (101 wins) needs just seven more wins to become the all-time winningest coach in program history.
• Senior Markus Crider will play in his 125th game on Tuesday night, just one shy of Jihad Ali’s school record of 126 games played.
• At 7-9 in the Sun Belt, the Panthers enter play Tuesday tied for sixth place, but just one game out of fifth place.
• Since returning to the league, GSU is 39-15 in Sun Belt regular season games, going 17-1 (2013-14), 15-5 (2014-15) and 7-9 (2015-16).
• Georgia State’s 7-2 non-conference record is the third-best in program history.
• Defensively, GSU is giving up just 64.1 points per game, No. 21 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 61-24 (.718) 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 79 wins, just nine shy of the school-record set just last year by Ryann Green.
