University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Men's Basketball Travels to Georgia State
12/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss continues its road trip this Sunday, Dec. 21, when it travels to Atlanta, Ga. to face Georgia State. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
Southern Miss and Georgia State will meet for the 11th time in their history and third straight year. Southern Miss holds a 7-3 record and has won the last two meetings. Southern Miss is 2-1 all-time at Georgia State. The Golden Eagles are 3-6 all-time when playing in Atlanta.
Southern Miss has an extensive history against the Sun Belt Conference. When the Golden Eagles face Georgia State, it will be their 82nd meeting against the Sun Belt. When facing the Sun Belt, Southern Miss is 48-33. It will also be the third game against the Sun Belt this year. Southern Miss has already defeated South Alabama (Nov. 17) and Troy (Nov. 25). Head coach Doc Sadler is 6-2 when facing the Sun Belt. This will be the first time he faces Georgia State.
Southern Miss enters today's game with a 5-4 record. Forward Matt Bingaya leads the Golden Eagles with 16.2 points, which is seventh in Conference USA. He is also averaging a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game. Guard Chip Armelin is second on the team with 9.7 points.
Forward Norville Carey is averaging 8.7 points and 4.3 rebounds. He is second in the league in field goal percentage, hitting 61.7% from the floor and is tied for ninth in blocks (1.0). Guard Rasham Suarez is scoring 7.1 points and is ninth in C-USA in assists (3.4).
The Golden Eagles are scoring 62.4 points a game but are allowing 66.0. Southern Miss is connecting on 44.4% from the floor and 32.1% from three while allowing 45.8% from the field and 34.4% from beyond the arc. The Black and Gold is also being outrebounded, 33.3-to-29.4.
Georgia State enters tonight's game with a 6-3 record. The Panthers had their five game-winning streak snapped on Wednesday by fellow-C-USA foe Old Dominion, falling 58-54, in overtime.
Guard R.J. Hunter is second in the Sun Belt and eighth in the country in scoring, averaging 22.1 points per game, while also leading the league in minutes played (36.3). He is also second in three-pointers made (3.0), third in steals (2.2) and fifth in assists (3.6).
Guard Ryan Harrow is third in the Sun Belt in points, averaging 19.4. He also leads the league in assists (5.9), is second in minutes played (35.7) and is fourth in assist/turnover ratio (2.8). Forward Markus Crider is averaging 7.9 points and leads the conference in field goal percentage at 69.0%.
Georgia State is scoring 74.7 points per game, good for third in the Sun Belt, and are allowing 64.3. GSU is connecting on 49.3% from the floor and 38.1% from three, which are both second in the league, while allowing 39.4% from the field and 31.6% from beyond the arc. The Panthers also lead the league in turnover margin (+5.9) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4), are second in steals (9.4) and are third in assists (15.1). Georgia State is being outrebounded on the year, 35.8-to-32.3.
Sadler is in his first season at the helm of the Southern Miss men's basketball program. He has compiled a 154-111 (.581) record in nine years as a head coach.
