MIAMI BASKETBALL/NOTES

RedHawks face Georgia State in MAC-Sunbelt Challenge

By MIKE SMITH
Miami basketball takes a break from Mid-American Conference action Saturday when the RedHawks face Georgia State in Atlanta. The matchup is part of the MAC-Sunbelt Challenge, and all MAC teams will be facing non-MAC foes. 

The Panthers are 10-13 overall with a 5-7 Sun Belt mark that leaves them five games off league-leading Appalachian State and Troy -- both with 10-2 Sun Belt Conference records. 

Miami, meanwhile, is now five games behind MAC-leading Akron after dropping a home game to Northern Illinois Tuesday. It was MU's second straight loss, leaving the RedHawks tied for sixth place along with Kent State and Western Michigan. The league's top eight teams will advance to conference tournament play in early March. Seven regular season contests remain. 

This is the first . . .

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. . . all-time meeting between Miami and Georgia State. The game will be available on ESPN+

MORE NOTES
-- Georgia State is the winningest Division I college basketball team in the state of Georgia since
the 2011-12 season. Since the start of 2011-12, Georgia State has won 61 percent of its games with a record of 244-158.
-- Georgia State is coming off a 78-69 win over Louisiana. That broke a six-game GSU losing streak. 
Guard Toneri Lane (16) and Leslie Nkereuwem (15) combined for 31 points. Three other Panther players tallied nine apiece. 
-- GSU shot 44.6 percent from the field and had three more made field goals. Although the Ragin Cajuns hit four more treys, Georgia State made seven more free throws.
-- Four Panthers are averaging double figures: Lucas Tayhlor (14.5 ppg), Lane (13.0 ppg), Dwon Odom (12.2 ppg) and JayDen Turner(10.1 ppg).
-- Odom was a preseason All-Sun Belt selection.
--  Sophomore post player Edward Nnamoko had perhaps his best game in a GSU uniform with nine points, six rebounds and two blocks off the bench at Louisiana.
-- Toneari Lane leads the Sun Belt in 3-point percentage (.328) while ranking second with 2.7 3-pointers per game. 
-- Four of the Panthers’ top five scorers are transfers: Lucas Taylor (14.5), Toneari Lane (13.0), Jay’Den Turner (10.1) and Leslie Nkereuwem (8.1). Dwon Odom is third on the team at 12.2 ppg.
-- Georgia State leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 47 in Division I in free throw percentage at .754. 
-- The home court for Panther basketball is the 7,500- seat GSU Convocation Center, an impressive
multi-purpose facility that opened in the fall of 2022. The new venue replaced the 3,854-seat GSU Sports Arena that housed the program from 1973 through the 2021-22 season. 

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-- Miami scored 59 points in Tuesday's (62-59) home loss to Northern Illinois. It was the second time MU has failed to reach 60 points in conference play. The RedHawks fell to Central Michigan 71-55 Jan. 23. 
-- Only one RedHawk player reached double figures against NIU. Center Reece Potter connected on three treys while scoring a team-high 10 points. 
-- Miami leading scorer Anderson Mirambeaux, who averages 13.1 ppg, failed to score a field goal against the Huskies. All three points came on free throws.
-- The RedHawks were out-rebounded 45-33 overall. That included a 15-8 edge in offensive rebounds. 
-- Northern Illinois owned a 24-16 advantage on points in the paint and 19-5 edge in second chance points. 
-- -- Miami head coach Travis Steele was formerly the head coach at Xavier, where his top assistant coach was Jonas Hayes. GSU assistant Danny Peters was also an assistant coach on that Xavier
staff, and assistant coach Sean Flannery was a graduate assistant for the Musketeers.