CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina men's basketball team will hit the road for their next two Sun Belt Conference games, as the Chanticleers will travel to Statesboro, Ga. to take on Georgia Southern on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30. Friday's action is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. ET and can be seen live on ESPN2, while Saturday's matinee will begin at 4 p.m. ET.
The Chants enter the weekend at 11-3 overall and in second place in the Sun Belt East Division with a 5-2 record while the Eagles are 10-7 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
The games represent the second conference road trip of the season for the Chants and it is the first time CCU and Georgia Southern have met on the hardcourt this year.
While the series is tied at 5-5, it has been a series that has seen each team with a winning streak. The Chants opened the series by winning five of the first six meetings, while Georgia Southern has won five of the last six matchups and four consecutive.
The games have been as close as the series record indicates. In the 10 games, CCU has averaged 70.5 points per game and the Eagles have averaged 66.5. Since the Chants joined the Sun Belt, Georgia Southern has averaged 77.0 points per game and CCU 73.0.
The Chants have spent the past several weeks ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll and last week's two wins propelled them two spots to No. 20 in the latest poll.
Coastal continues to be led by
DeVante' Jones and his league-leading 22.4 points per game average. He also leads the league in total steals with 52 thefts. The reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week is beginning to pick up some national attention as he was announced to the Lou Henson Award watch list earlier this week. His points per game average is third nationally and he is second nationally in steals per game (3.71) and in total steals.
CCU continues to lead the league in scoring and ranks sixth among the national leaders at 86.1 points per game. Jones has plenty of help in the scoring department as
Deanthony Tipler is averaging over 16 points per game and
Essam Mostafa is averaging just under 12.
Georgia Southern has a well-balanced scoring team that is averaging 74.8 points per game. Zack Bryant's 14.4 points per game pace the Eagles as Eric Boone (11.1) and Elijah McCadden (10.2) also average double digits.
The Eagles have one of the top-scoring defenses in the conference, holding their opponents to just 67.4 points per game, good enough for fourth in the league.
With Friday's game being shown on ESPN2, Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (subscription required). Live stats will also be available at
www.GoCCUsports.com.
For complete coverage of CCU men's basketball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMBB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.
