Georgia State Panthers: 24-9, 13-5 in the Sun Belt Conference
Head coach: Ron Hunter (8th Season)
Players to watch: D’Marcus Simonds (18.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.7 APG); Malik Benlevi (12.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.1 BPG); Kane Williams (11.3 PPG, 3.5 APG, 2.0 SPG)
Season recap: The Panthers got off to a decent start in nonconference play, registering nine wins in 13 games with important wins against Alabama and Georgia. On the other side of the coin, Creighton handled Georgia State by a final of 93-68, perhaps its worst loss of the season. The Panthers closed out significant nonconference play by hanging with now-No.15 Kansas State, a sign that they could be a potential upset pick in the Big Dance.
Conference play saw Georgia State off to a fast start, winning each of its first five contests. Ron Hunter’s team then seemed to enter a stretch in which it could not keep a streak, dropping two, then winning a pair before losing a couple more. This continued until the Sun Belt tournament, in which the Panthers heated up quickly in order to secure a tournament spot, taking down UT Arlington in the championship game. This represents the first time the Georgia State has secured back-to-back tourney appearances, and it is only the fifth time in program history that it's been in the field.
The Panthers have pulled off impressive upsets in the past, taking down sixth-seeded Wisconsin in 2001 and stunning No. 3 seed Baylor in 2015, with a dramatic shot by R.J. Hunter sending his father and coach tumbling off his stool. This year, they will rely on distributed scoring to lead the charge, with their entire starting five averaging over 11 points per game. These five play for most of the contest, but a few guards off the bench have contributed in a big way down the stretch.
How they make a run: Hit the 3-point shot. Four of the Panthers’ starting five are converting at a rate north of 40 percent from beyond the arc, each with no less than 170 attempts on the season. If the treys fall, Georgia State may not.
How they falter: Free throws. Of the players garnering the most playing time for Ron Hunter’s squad, only one is making shots from the charity stripe at a rate higher than 70 percent. To pull off an upset, underdogs need to take advantage of every shot given, and if the Panthers cannot, they will likely exit the field early.
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