A five-game home winning streak hangs in the balance for the Georgia State Panthers (8-3) when they match up with the Troy Trojans (5-8). Action gets underway at 7:30 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 7 and can be seen on ES3.
The Panthers were victorious over Texas State 58-46 in their last matchup. Jeremy Hollowell was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting. The Trojans, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 67-61 loss against Little Rock in their last game. Jordan Varnado had a team-high 18 points.
Georgia State is a big 11-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 139 points. The Panthers enter the game with records of 8-3 Straight Up (SU) and 4-5 Against The Spread (ATS). The Georgia State defense has been very good, only giving up 60.5 points per game. Teams have to fight for open shots against the Panthers, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the country at .388.
As for their opponent, the Trojans have records of 5-6 ATS and 5-8 SU. Teams with weak ball handling have not fared well against the Trojans, who rank 38th in the nation with 8.2 steals per game.
Georgia State and Troy will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Panthers were winners, bumping their SU record to 6-4 over Troy in their most recent meetings. On the other hand, Troy holds the advantage ATS with a record of 5-3. Neither team held the edge in field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers in a single game during this span.
Predictions: SU Winner – Troy, ATS Winner – Troy, O/U – Under
Notes
Georgia State is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games.
Georgia State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Georgia State is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Troy.
Georgia State is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Troy.
Troy averages 75.8 points per game, placing the team just 140th in the nation. Georgia State ranks 10th in points allowed, giving up 60.5 points per game.
The Georgia State Panthers have a defensive rating of 94.0 (ranked 38th), while the Troy Trojans have an offensive rating of 102.5 (ranked 232nd).
Troy has an average field goal percentage of 42.7%. Georgia State is an even 2-2 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Georgia State Panthers rank higher based on their field goal percentage (64th) than their effective field goal percentage (128th). The Troy Trojans rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (235th) than their field goal percentage (243rd).
Georgia State ranks 348th in offensive rebounds, while Troy ranks 85th in defensive rebounds.
Opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 19.3% when playing Troy this season. Georgia State is undefeated this season (4-0) when its TO% is 19.3% or higher.
