SAN MARCOS, Texas – The first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament will see 11th seed Texas State (13-18) take on 14th seed Georgia State at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday from the Pensacola Bay Center. It will be the first time the Bobcats have played a first round game since 2018.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Matt Stewart and Nate Ross on the call. Fans can also tune into the Varsity Sports Network app to listen to Clint Shields on the call.
 
About Texas State
The Bobcats ended the regular season with back-to-back losses. Nine of their victories have been away from San Marcos, which is tied for the third most in the conference. TXST will be looking to claim its first win in the Sun Belt Tournament since Mar. 11, 2020, against App State that was played in Strahan Arena.
 
Mason Harrell was named to the All-Sun Belt Third Team after leading Texas State in scoring (16.0), made field goals (150), made three-pointers (40), made free throws (107), free throw percentage (87.0), assists (67) and steals (31). His free throw percentage is the second best in the league while his scoring mark came in sixth.
 
Nighael Ceaser has been a force primarily off the bench as he enters the tournament averaging 9.6 ppg and a team best 6.3 rpg. He also paces the team with 27 blocks while shooting 50.0% from the field. Tyrel Morgan is contributing 8.9 ppg and 6.0 rpg. Coming off his first career double-double, Nate Martin is now putting up 7.7 ppg at a team-high 51.4% clip.
 
About Georgia State
The Panthers enter the championship having lost seven straight games with the last win coming at home on Feb. 2 against Georgia Southern. GSU has dropped all 11 of its road contests this season with the closest being a six-point margin.
 
Five players are putting up at least 10 points a contest led by Collin Moore at 13.3. He has only played 12 games this season, all of them coming in league play. Brenden Tucker is netting 13.0 ppg on 39.4% shooting but has made a team-high 79 charity stripe attempts.
 
Dwon Odom paces the squad with 4.0 apg and is adding 12.5 ppg on 145 made field goals but only six have come from beyond the arc. Jamaine Mann enters averaging 10.6 ppg and 5.2 rpg with 23 steals and 20 blocks. The fifth Panther with a double-digit scoring mark is Ja'Heim Hudson at 10.2.
 
All-Time Series
Georgia State leads the all-time series 11-6 with the teams splitting the last four meetings. Texas State claimed the last game between the teams 86-76 in San Marcos on Feb. 22, 2020. The teams were supposed to play last season in Atlanta, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 safety protocols within the Bobcat program.
 
Tuesday will be the third time the programs have faced off in the Sun Belt Tournament. The Bobcats won the first game 63-61 in 2016 on a late three-pointer from Bobby Conley while the Panthers claimed the most recent contest 59-49 in 2019.
 
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