SAN MARCOS, Texas – Bobcat Nation will be treated to what is arguably the biggest home weekend of the regular season as Texas State (17-10, 10-6 Sun Belt) host Georgia Southern (16-11, 10-6 Sun Belt) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, and Georgia State (18-9, 11-5 Sun Belt) at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Strahan Arena. Entering the weekend, Ga. Southern is tied with TXST at No. 3 in the Sun Belt Conference standings, and GSU sits at No. 2. The tilt on Saturday against the Panthers will be senior day and senior guard Nijal Pearson and forward Eric Terry will be honored prior to the game.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
ESPN + vs. Georgia Southern / Georgia State: PXP: Brant Freeman, Analyst: Suzanne Fox
Live Stats vs. Georgia Southern: Statbroadcast
Live Stats_­ vs. Georgia State: Statbroadcast
Listen: AM 1300 The Zone, TuneIn App – Bill Culhane
 
SETTING THE SCENE
• Texas State is receiving 27 votes in the latest Collegeinsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. It is the Bobcats fourth appearance in the poll this season. The Bobcats are one of three teams in the Poll representing the Sun Belt Conference along with No. 21 Little Rock and Georgia State (receiving 23 votes).
• The Bobcats enter the weekend tied at No. 3 in the Sun Belt standings after a 69-64 win vs. Arkansas State and is 8-2 in their last 10 games.    
• Texas State leads the Sun Belt Conference with a 63.6 scoring defense and ranks No. 2 in the league in field goal percentage defense (.400). The Bobcats are 9-1 this season when holding their opponents to 60 points or below and have a league-best marks in turnover margin (3.9, No. 15 in the NCAA) and turnovers forced (15.2).
• Offensively, Texas State rank in the top five of the Sun Belt Conference in scoring margin (8.9, No. 1), free-throw percentage (76.0%, No. 1), field goal percentage (45.4%, No. 3), scoring offense (72.5 ppg., No. 4), and 3-point field goal percentage (33.1%, No. 5). They also have 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio that is No. 2 in the league.
• Senior guard Nijal Pearson is the league-leader in the Sun Belt with 19.6 points per game behind a 42.9 field goal percentage (No. 5 in the Sun Belt), a 37.6 3-point field goal percentage (No. 3 in the Sun Belt), and a 78.1 free-throw percentage (No. 8 in the Sun Belt). He averages 33.8 minutes per game and his 509 total points this season ranks No. 31 in Division I as of Feb. 19. 
• Sophomore guard Mason Harrell follows with 9.3 points per game, shooting 49.4 percent from the floor, 41.5 percent from 3-point range, and 87.0 percentage from the charity stripe. Harrell rank No. 2 in the Sun Belt with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 23 in the NCAA) and has 3.0 assists per game. 
• Junior guard Marlin Davis leads the Sun Belt Conference with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks No. 18 in the nation. Davis leads the team with 3.6 assists per game (No. 5 in the Sun Belt) and 1.2 steals per game. Davis logged a career-high 11 assists last game vs. Appalachian State and chips in 5.6 points per game.
• Junior forward Isiah Small ranks No. 7 in the Sun Belt with 6.6 rebounds per game, including 2.3 offensive boards per game (No. 7 in the Sun Belt). Small averages 7.8 points overall this season, and 8.6 points per game in conference play.
 
PEARSON RECORD TRACKER / NOTABLES 
• Pearson is this week's Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week after averaging 21.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.5 steals per game in a pair of victories vs. Little Rock and Arkansas State. Pearson has won the award three times this season.
• Pearson is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,030 career points. His point total currently ranks No. 22 among active players across all NCAA divisions and rank No. 12 in Division I. He also ranks No. 9 in the Sun Belt Conference all-time in scoring.
• Pearson is one of four active NCAA Division I players with 2,000 career points and 700 career rebounds (eight total players across all divisions). He currently ranks fourth on that list with 2,030 points and 703 rebounds.
• Pearson is the first Bobcat to be in the top 10 of the school's record book in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
• The Beaumont, Texas native has 170 career steals that rank No. 3 in the school's record book. He now trails Wes Davis (2011-15) who is No. 2 with 189 steals, and David Sykes (1999-03) who is the program's leader with 192 career steals.
• Pearson is No. 9 on the all-time rebounding list with 703 career rebounds. Former Bobcat Steve Frontz (1974-78) ranks No. 8 with 751 career rebounds.
• Pearson rank No. 8 in the program's record book with 276 career assists. Former Bobcat Ojai Black (2014-17) ranks No. 7 with 287 career assists.
• Pearson was listed on the 2020 Dos Equis 3x3U National Championship Midseason Watch List and is the front-runner to win the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year award according to espn.com.
• Pearson was tabbed to the 2019-20 Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team by the league office after garnering All-Sun Belt First Team honors in the 2018-19 season.
 
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN
• Georgia Southern is coming off a 62-57 loss at home to Appalachian State. Although the Eagles are 5-7 on the road this season, they are just over .500 in conference play with a 4-3 mark. 
• The Eagles average 75.6 points per game (No. 3 in the Sun Belt) shooting 43.3 percent from the floor (No. 7 in the Sun Belt), 32.6 percent from 3-point range (No. 7 in the Sun Belt), and 68.7 percent from the free-throw line (No. 9 in the Sun Belt).
• Defensively, Ga. Southern rank towards the top of the league with 8.1 steals and 4.1 blocks and turns its opponent over 16.2 times per game (all No. 2 in the Sun Belt). Although the Eagles have a 43.8 field goal percentage defense that ranks No. 10 in the league, they guard the 3-point line well, holding opponents to a .308 clip (No. 3 in the Sun Belt).  
• GS have four players scoring 10 points or more on average, beginning with senior guard Ike Smith who averages 14.5 points (No. 8 in the Sun Belt) to go along with 5.7 rebounds per game.
• Junior guard Quan Jackson follows with 13.3 points and leads the league with 2.6 steals per game, a mark that is No. 5 in the nation and has 71 total steals that is No. 4 in the NCAA. Jackson also adds 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
• Senior forward Isaiah Crawley averages 12.7 points on a 54.9 field goal percentage. He pulls down 5.7 rebounds per game, including 2.7 on the offensive glass that ranks No. 3 in the league. Sophomore guard Elijah McCadden rounds out the top scorers with 11.1 points on average and is tied at No. 9 in the conference with 1.4 steals per game.
• Other important contributors consist of sophomore guard Calvin Wishart who averages 9.5 points behind a 37.0 3-point field goal percentage (No. 5 in the Sun Belt) and senior forward Simeon Carter who ranks No. 2 in the conference with 1.6 blocks per game, matches the team-high 5.7 rebounds, and chips in 7.2 points per game.   
 
SCOUTING GEORGIA STATE
• The Panthers are on a three-game winning streak after defeating Coastal Carolina 92-80 in Atlanta. Though they are dominant at home with an 11-1 record, GSU is 6-8 on the road this season, including an even 4-4 mark in league games. 
• Georgia State is a solid all-around team who leads the Sun Belt with a 79.3 scoring offence (No. 19 in the NCAA) and a 37.6 three-point field goal percentage (No. 20 in the NCAA). On the other side of the court, the Panthers set the standard with a 39.5 field goal percentage defense (No. 31 in the NCAA), a 28.9 3-point field goal percentage defense (No. 15 in the NCAA), and averages 8.2 steals (No. 31 in the NCAA), 4.3 blocks, and force 16.5 turnovers per game (No. 23 in the NCAA).   
• The Panthers also have four players scoring in double figures this season. Junior guard Corey Allen averages 14.3 points per game (No. 10 in the Sun Belt) shooting 41.2 percent from the field (No. 7 in the Sun Belt) and 35.0 percent from behind-the-arc (No. 8 in the Sun Belt).
• Junior guard Kane Williams turns in 13.8 points per game (No. 13 in the Sun Belt) and leads the team with 4.3 assists (No. 3 in the Sun Belt). Williams also has 4.3 rebounds per game, is tied at No. 9 in the Sun Belt with 1.4 steals per game, and ranks No. 6 in the league with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. 
• Sophomore guard Justin Roberts is right behind Williams with 13.7 points per game and is the league-leader with a 40.6 3-point field goal percentage. In addition to 3.9 rebounds per game, Roberts averages 3.6 assists (No. 7 in the Sun Belt), 1.6 steals (No. 6 in the Sun Belt) per game, and a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Senior guard Damon Wilson scores 11.1 points per game and leads the team with 4.9 rebounds per game. Wilson shoots 42.1 percent from the floor, 40.2 percent from 3-point range. 
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Georgia Southern leads Texas State 8-3 in the all-time series, including its 67-64 win in the conference-opening game this season in Statesboro, Ga.  In that game, Terry led the Bobcats with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting, followed by 16 points from Small and 11 from Pearson.
• The teams are tied at 2-2 when playing in San Marcos.
• Georgia State has the advantage over Texas State as well with an 11-5 mark. GSU defeated TXST 81-69 in late December of 2019 despite a 19-point seven-rebound performance from Terry. Pearson had 14 points and seven rebounds as well and sophomore guard Caleb Asberry finished with 12 points. 
• The Bobcats are 1-5 all-time and are on a five-game losing streak vs. the Panthers when playing in San Marcos.
 
UP NEXT
Texas State ends the regular season on the road beginning with an ESPN 2 game at UT Arlington at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28 at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. The Bobcats' season finale will be at South Alabama at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala.
 
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