THE MATCHUP
Teams: ULM (6-11, 0-4 SBC)
Georgia Southern (11-6, 4-0 SBC)
Location: Fant-Ewing Coliseum/ Monroe, La.
Time: 7:00 p.m. CST
LIVE AUDIO (Warhawk Radio Network)
LIVE STATS (http://www.statbroadcast.com)
Live Video (Warhawks All-Access)
MONROE, La. – The ULM men's basketball team continues its weekend of home Sun Belt Conference action on Monday when the Warhawks welcome in Georgia Southern to Fant-Ewing Coliseum at 7:00 p.m. Monday night's game will be available on the Warhawk Radio Network and on Warhawks All-Access.
The Warhawks enter the tilt with a 6-11 mark, coming off of an overtime loss against Georgia State 73-65 in Saturday, while Georgia Southern is 11-6, coming off a five-point win over the Ragin Cajuns on Saturday to become the only 4-0 team in the Sun Belt.
NOTABLES
Last Time Out: ULM battled back to force overtime on Saturday against visiting Georgia State, however an early 6-0 run in overtime by the Panthers turned out to be the difference as the Warhawks fell 73-65. For the Warhawks, it was their first loss inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum since March 30, 2015 when they fell to Loyola-Chicago 65-58.
Head-to-Head: The Warhawks and Eagles meet on Saturday for just the 15th time in program history. The Warhawks have a strong 10-4 lead in the all-time series, including a win over Georgia Southern last March when they won 83-76 in a game which featured Justin Roberson dropping 18 points and Majok Deng picking up another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. In the late 70's and early 80's the Warhawks carried a seven-game winning streak over the Eagles.
Assist Mark: Senior Nick Coppola currently sits with 488 assists over his three-plus seasons with the Warhawks. He is just 12 assists away from becoming just the sixth active NCAA Division I player to have 1,000 points and 500 assists in his career. He eclipsed the 1,000-point mark earlier this season when he scored a season-high 23 points against Jacksonville State on December 10.
Sun Belt Leaders: Following the January 14 slate of SBC games, sophomore Travis Munnings is currently third in the SBC with 8.2 rebounds per game. Nick Coppola sits third in the Sun Belt averaging 4.6 assists per game, while he also sits in first with an 2.8 assist to turnover ratio. Coppola also leads the conference with 36.4 minutes per game so far this year. Marvin Jean-Pierre sits in seventh in the conference with his 53.2 field goal percentage. In conference-only games, sophomore Travis Munnings is tied for 10th in points per game with 15.0. Coppola leads the SBC in league games averaging 39.2 minutes per game, Sam McDaniel is averaging 38.5 minutes per game ranking fourth and Munnings is sixth with 36.2 minutes per game.
Scouting the Eagles: Georgia Southern is led by Ike Smith, who is averaging 20.2 points per game this season and shooting 50.6 percent from the floor this season. Tookie Brown has also had a strong start this season for the Eagles with averaging 17.4 points per game. During conference-only action, Brown is averaging 24.5 points per game while Smith is averaging 21.5 points per game.
Sharing the Basketball: The Warhawks have 228 assists on 429 made baskets so far this season. Nick Coppola leads the way with 79 assists, while Travis Munnings has 34 assists so far this season and Jordon Harris has 29 assists on the season. As a team, the Warhawks have assisted on 53.1 percent of their made baskets this season.
Controlling the Offensive Glass: As a team, the Warhawks grabbed 12 offensive rebounds against Georgia State on Saturday night - the 10th time in 17 games that they have grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds with a season-high 17 boards coming at Texas. Travis Munnings leads the way with 37 rebounds and Sam McDaniel follows close behind with 36 offensive rebounds.
UP NEXT
-Following Monday's contest, the Warhawks will head back out on the road as they travel to Arlington, Texas on Saturday to battle UT-Arlington with tip slated for 4:30 on ESPN3.
