SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team concludes a two-game road trip in Georgia this Saturday when the Bobcats travel to Georgia Southern for a Sun Belt Conference game at 4 p.m. (Central). Texas State (17-3, 6-1 Sun Belt) avenged its only Sun Belt loss with an 81-68 victory at Georgia State last Thursday night. Georgia Southern (12-8, 4-3 Sun Belt) is coming off a 72-67 loss against UTA on Jan. 24.
 
Bobcat fans can listen to Bill Culhane describe the action on AM 1300 in Austin and the Texas State Bobcats Sports Network at www.tunein.com. The game will be video-streamed on the Georgia Southern website, www.gseagles.com. KTSW in San Marcos will join the broadcast after the conclusion of the Texas State women's basketball game.
 
Saturday's game will feature the Sun Belt's top offensive team hosting the league's top defensive team. Georgia Southern enters the game leading the league in scoring offense with 84.5 points per game and in field goal percentage with a .500 percentage (631-1263). Texas State is leading the league and ranks 12th nationally in scoring defense after surrendering 62.2 points per game. The Bobcats lead the league and rank 20th nationally in field goal percentage defense with 39.2 percent (416-1061).
 
THE HEAD COACHES >>
Danny Kaspar is among the five winningest coaches at Texas State after capturing his 91st victory against Georgia State. Kaspar evened his record at Texas State at 91-91, and he ranks 22nd among NCAA Division I active head coaches with a 556-284 career record.
 
Mark Byington is in his sixth season at Georgia Southern and has a 102-80 record at the school. Byington is in his seventh season as a head coach and enters Saturday's game with a 109-84 career record.
 
ABOUT TEXAS STATE >>
Texas State enters Saturday's game looking to win its sixth straight game after defeating Georgia State last Thursday night. Nijal Pearson scored a game-high 27 points and handed out three assists for Texas State. Tre'Larenz Nottingham netted 13 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while Alex Peacock also scored 13 points for the Bobcats.

Texas State's 17-3 record is the best start for the Bobcats since 1959-60, a span of 59 years, when the Bobcats opened that year with a 21-3 record in route to a NAIA national championship. The 17 wins also surpassed last season's win total.
 
The Bobcats have a 6-1 Sun Belt Conference record for the second straight season and second time since joining the league in 2013. Texas State would have its best start since joining the Sun Belt with a win on Saturday.
 
Texas State received two votes in this week's USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll marking the first time the Bobcats have received votes in the poll this season. The Bobcats are ranked No. 17 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll after moving up five spots. This marks the sixth straight week that the Bobcats have been ranked, and the No. 17 ranking is their highest in the poll.

Nijal Pearson is one of four players in Texas State history to record 1,300 points, 500 rebounds and 100 steals during his career. He has scored 1,355 points, pulled down 505 rebounds and 118 steals in his career. Pearson ranks seventh among Sun Belt Conference leaders in scoring with 18.8 points per game. He is the Sun Belt's top three-point shooter in the league with a .442 (61-138) percentage after making 7-11 three-point attempts at Georgia State.  Pearson is 10th in field goal percentage with a .453 (135-298) percentage and 14th in steals with 1.3 per game.
 
Tre'Larenz Nottingham averages 13.6 points per game to rank 17th among the league's scoring leaders. Nottingham is third in three-point shooting with 34.0 percent (53-156) and ninth among Sun Belt steals leaders with 1.4 per game.
 
Jaylen Shead leads the Sun Belt Conference in assist/turnover ratio with 2.8 assists per turnover. His 5.0 assists per game rank second among league leaders. He dished out eight assists at Georgia State.
 
Alex Peacock ranks 11th among the Sun Belt's rebounding leaders with a 6.5 average.
 
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN >>
Georgia Southern has won two of its last three games with wins at Troy and South Alabama before its loss against UTA. The Eagles have split their season series against UTA after recording a 77-64 victory against the Mavericks on Jan. 5.
 
Senior guard Tookie Brown leads Georgia Southern and ranks 10th among Sun Belt scoring leaders with 16.8 points per game. He is third among the league's assists leaders with 4.8 per game.
 
Sophomore Quan Jackson averages 15.8 points to rank 12th among league scoring leaders and is second in the league with 2.3 steals per game. Senior center Montae Glenn leads Georgia Southern in rebounding and is ninth in the league with a 7.0 average. He is also averaging 10.0 points per game. Isaiah Crawley is averaging 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. GEORGIA SOUTHERN >>
Texas State enters Saturday's game with a 3-6 record against Georgia Southern in a series that began in Dec. 18, 1965. The Bobcats opened their 2019 Sun Belt schedule with a 73-70 victory over the Eagles on Jan. 3. Texas State looks to win its second straight game in Statesboro after edging Georgia Southern, 62-61, on Jan. 25, 2018. Texas State's other win in the series came on Dec. 30, 2015 in Strahan Arena. The Bobcats have a 1-4 record in road games against the Eagles.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BOBCATS >>
Following the Georgia Southern game, Texas State will begin a three-game homestand against intrastate rival UTA at 4 p.m. on Feb. 2 at Strahan Arena. The Bobcats will host Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina on Feb. 7 and 9, respectively.