Texas State starts Sun Belt play at Georgia Southern

Texas State always struggles in Statesboro.

In the five games the Bobcats have played at Georgia Southern with Danny Kaspar as their head coach, the team holds a 1-4 record. The lone win came on Jan. 25, 2018, when Texas State defeated the Eagles 62-61. All but one of the games have been determined by single digits, with an average margin of victory of 5.6 points.

The maroon and gold will look to reverse the trend on Thursday, as the team heads to Statesboro again this weekend for the first game of its Sun Belt schedule.

“It's been a tough place for us and other schools to win at and this is historically been our toughest road trip of the year, the two Georgia schools,” Kaspar said. “And so we're hoping that we can have success before Christmas because, you know, I mean, if we can win both or at least get a split, I think that would be a big feather in our cap.”

The Eagles and Bobcats have clashing styles of play. Georgia Southern (6-4) is one of the fastest teams in the country, averaging 75.3 possessions per 40 minutes per KenPom, ranking 17th among all NCAA Division I schools. Texas State (7-4) is much more patient, ranking 300th in the nation with a 66.2 adjusted tempo rating.

Kaspar said slowing the hosts down and playing to his team’s speed would be important in getting the win.

“Georgia Southern is an athletic team. They have scoring from three or four different people. And so we cannot let it be a high-scoring game at their gym. I say that about almost anybody we play,” Kaspar said. “So we cannot play their game on their home court.”

Kaspar also wants to continue seeing his centers continue to perform at a high level. Senior Eric Terry posted a season-high 20 points in Texas State’s 117-65 home win over Bethany College on Sunday. Redshirt sophomore Alonzo Sule strung three consecutive games with double-digit points before scoring just two against UTSA on Dec. 7 and missing the game against the Swedes.

“Eric needed a good game, whether it be against Bethany or anybody, to hopefully get his confidence going. This is a key part but him and Alonzo Sule have to be a bigger part of — have to become more a bigger part of our offense,” Kaspar said. “We need more points from our center position — and rebounds, for that matter. More points and rebounds from our centers.”

The head coach said he’d grade his team a B right now, noting that a handful of possessions in a games against Air Force, Baylor and Houston could have played out differently to give the Bobcats a better record. Those possessions will matter more now, especially in a place Texas State has consistently seen tight games.

The Bobcats will try to improve on Kaspar’s grade Thursday when it takes on Georgia Southern on the road at 6 p.m.

“Right now, overall, our team is playing very hard and competing very well,” Kaspar said. “We just gotta rebound better. We gotta rebound better, we gotta get more scoring from our inside people. We have to have more consistency and be more efficient in shooting the basketball from some certain people.”