What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State will look for an eighth-straight win hosting UL Monroe on Monday night at 7 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena.
* Earlier this year, the Panthers earned a 73-65 overtime win at ULM, snapping the Warhawks' 18-game home court winning streak.
* The Panthers seven-game winning streak is the eighth-longest in the country and tied for the fifth-longest in program history.
ATLANTA-Looking for an eighth-straight win, Georgia State will host UL Monroe on Monday at 7 p.m. at the GSU Sports Arena. The Panthers currently sit in a tie for first place in the Sun Belt standings and have won eight of their first nine games of 2017.
Georgia State (15-7, 8-2 Sun Belt) earned a win over rival Louisiana on Saturday and will now look to sweep UL Monroe (7-16, 1-9 Sun Belt) after earning a 73-65 overtime win in Monroe, La., last month. In that game, the Panthers snapped the Warhawks’ 18-game home court winning streak.
Monday’s contest can be heard live on 1340 The Fan 3, 1230 The Fan 2 and WRAS-FM 88.5 with Dave Cohen, now in his 34th year as the Voice of the Panthers, being joined by 680 The Fan’s Brandon Leak. The game will also air on the WatchESPN platform for a second-straight year 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.
The Panthers seven-game winning streak is currently the eighth-longest in the country. It is also tied for the fifth-longest in program history.
Georgia State has won six of the last seven meetings with ULM, including a 65-51 win in Atlanta last year. The Panthers have won 49 conference games since the start of the 2013-14 season, the most in the league, while UL Monroe is tied for fourth with 37 wins.
Freshman D’Marcus Simonds, who earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors last Tuesday, has been rolling since returning from injury. He has scored 19 or more points in five of the last six games and is averaging a team-high 18.6 points per game in conference play. For the season, he is averaging 12.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, while shooting 58.9 percent from the floor.
“We have entered February and this is the time of year that I look for our team to start to peak,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “I honestly do not believe we have played our best game yet. We are still looking to clean up our turnovers and shoot better from the free throw line. However, the one thing we have learned how to do is win and that is what leads to championships.”
Senior Jeremy Hollowell, an All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team member, continues to lead the Panthers averaging 15.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He scored the 1,000th point of his career at Troy last Saturday. He has scored 788 points in a Georgia State uniform.
He is one of six Panthers scoring 6.0 or more points per game, as 10 members of the team average at least 11 minutes per game. Hollowell has scored 20 or more points in a game seven times this year.
Sophomore Malik Benlevi has easily been Georgia State’s most improved player since last year. In Sun Belt games, Benlevi is averaging 10.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 57.6 percent from the floor.
Junior Isaiah Williams is adding 7.9 points and dishing out 2.1 assists per game. He leads the team with 44 assists and is shooting 35.1 percent from 3-point range.
Sophomore Jeff Thomas is also having a remarkable season as he is shooting 42.5 percent from 3-point range which is currently the sixth-best mark in program history.
Senior Isaiah Dennis is finishing his career strong, currently shooting 71.0 percent from the floor and scoring 5.6 points per game in Sun Belt action.
Notes:
· Georgia State is first in the Sun Belt and No. 21 in the NCAA averaging 8.3 steals per game.
· Despite several players in their first year at Georgia State, the Panthers starting line-up doesn’t lack experience. Both Jeremy Hollowell (114) and Willie Clayton (118) played in their 100th career games during non-conference play.
· Georgia State is No. 40 in the NCAA forcing 15.45 turnovers per game.
· Freshman D’Marcus Simonds is No. 5 in the Sun Belt averaging 1.6 steals per game and No. 19 in scoring.
· Senior Willie Clayton has 844 career rebounds, ranked No. 13 in the NCAA among all active players.
Following Monday’s game, Georgia State will return to the road and face Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Quick Notes:
• Georgia State and UL Monroe will meet for the 13th time on Monday. The Panthers have won six of the last seven meetings.
• Since rejoining the Sun Belt, GSU is 49-19 in conference regular season games, the most wins of any school in the league. ULM is tied for fourth with 37.
• Georgia State’s seven-game winning streak is the longest since an eight-game streak during the 2013-14 season. It is currently ranked No. 8 in the NCAA.
• The winning streak is tied for the fifth-longest in program history.
• Georgia State’s 73-65 overtime win over ULM on Jan. 14 snapped the Warhawks 18-game home court winning streak.
• Georgia State has also won four-straight on the road which is currently the 11th-longest streak in the country.
• Senior Isaiah Dennis has been a part of 81 wins at GSU, tied for the fourth-most in program history with Markus Crider and T.J. Shipes.
• D’Marcus Simonds has scored 19 or more points in five of the last six games, including a career-high tying 26 at Troy last Saturday.
• Jeremy Hollowell scored his 1,000th career point at Troy on Jan. 28. He has scored 788 points at GSU.
• Senior Willie Clayton enters play just 11 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
• Georgia State finished non-conference play with 7 wins, tied for third most in program history.
• Georgia State made 15 3-pointers against Coastal Carolina on Jan. 21, tied for the sixth-most in a single game in program history.
• The Panthers 101-86 win at Louisiana marked the first time the Ragin’ Cajuns have given up 100 points at home since 1990.
• The win over Middle Tennessee in mid-December marked the second time in three seasons defeating an NCAA RPI Top 10 team.
• Ron Hunter enters play with 118 wins at GSU, the most in program history.
• Hunter is one of seven coaches to be the all-time winningest coach at multiple NCAA D1 schools.
• Senior Jeremy Hollowell has scored 20 or more points in a game seven times this year and is averaging a team-high 15.7 points per game.
• D’Marcus Simonds is averaging a team-best 18.6 points per game in Sun Belt play.
• Willie Clayton has two double-doubles this year and has 19 for his career.
• Freshman D’Marcus Simonds was named MVP of the Cancun Challenge in November.
• Georgia State is 78-34 (.696) since Dec. 14, 2013.
