Men's Basketball Preview: Eagles take on Appalachian State on Senior Night

Setting the Scene

Date: Feb. 24, 2023
Site: Hanner Fieldhouse (3,897)
Tipoff: 7 p.m.
Series: GS trails 34-36, W1 | Division I Series History
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: GS Sports Network
Promos:
Senior Night - Join us as we honor our seniors in their final game at Hanner Fieldhouse. We'll also celebrate with the seniors of the Georgia Southern Cheerleaders, Dance Team, and Hoop Troop!

Probable Starters:
#0 - Kaden Archie
#2 - Jalen Finch
#3 - Tyren Moore
#11 - Johnny McFatten
#12 - Andrei Savrasov

Game Notes

Georgia Southern closes out the regular season by playing host to longtime rival Appalachian State Friday on Senior Night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Georgia Southern Sports Network. GS will recognize seniors Kaden Archie, Kamari Brown, Carlos Curry, Jalen Finch and Andrei Savrasov prior to the contest.
It's the second meeting between the teams this season. GS topped Appalachian State 67-65 in Boone Jan. 12 on a buzzer-beating layup by Jalen Finch.
Georgia Southern is ninth in the Sun Belt standings, and Appalachian State is tied for seventh. A win against the Mountaineers and a South Alabama loss would vault the Eagles into seventh, which is their highest possible finish.
The Eagles can finish no lower than 10th. An Eagle loss tonight and a ULM win would put GS in 10th, while an Eagle loss and a ULM loss would leave GS in ninth. The top four seeds earn a bye to the quarterfinals, while seeds 5-10 earn a bye into the second round.
The Eagles are in a stretch in which they finish the regular season with four of six contests at home and are 3-2 during the span, having won three home games and lost two road games. GS is coming off a 76-68 home win over Coastal Carolina Wednesday night.
Six Eagles are scoring seven or more points a game, and only leading scorer Andrei Savrasov takes more than 10 shots a game (11.0/gm). Six different Eagles have led the team in scoring in a game this season.
The Eagles have notched single-digit turnovers in 10 games. GS ranks sixth in the Sun Belt in turnover margin (1.3) and fourth in the league in least turnovers (11.6/gm).
Savrasov has posted double-digit rebounds in five of the last seven games and has double-doubles in four of the last six. The redshirt senior ranks ninth in the Sun Belt in rebounding (7.4/gm), fourth in field goal percentage (.492), 11th in steals (1.4/gm) and fifth in double-doubles.
Jalen Finch has 110 assists and has become the first Eagle to record 100 assists in a season since Tookie Brown posted 154 in 2018-19. Finch is third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.12), eighth in assists (3.7/gm) and 10th in steals (1.4/gm).
Carlos Curry ranks 10th in the Sun Belt in rebounding (7.1/gm) and 10th in double-doubles (4).
GS is 29-1 in its last 30 games when shooting 50% or better from the floor. The Eagles lost 94-87 at Louisiana Jan. 28 despite shooting 56.3%.
GS has won four of its last five games that were decided by one point. The Eagles fell 84-83 at Marshall Feb. 16.
The Eagles are 11-4 in Hanner Fieldhouse this season and 26-13 in Hanner during head coach Brian Burg's tenure. It's the most home wins in a season since the Eagles went 11-4 in 2019-20.
Despite having a stretch of 10 straight games with the same starters, GS has used eight different starting lineups this season.
Appalachian State is 3-2 in its last five and coming off a 78-52 win at Georgia State Wednesday night. The Mountaineers drained 14 of 21 from 3-point range in the contest.
The Mountaineers are 6-6 on the road, including 4-4 in road league games.
App State leads the Sun Belt in scoring defense (64.2, 33rd in the nation) and field goal percentage defense (.398, 16th in the nation).
Preseason All-Sun Belt selection Donovan Gregory leads the Mountaineers in scoring (12.5), assists (4.3) and steals (1.7).