Men's Hoops Returns Home to Face Georgia Southern

Saturday, January 14

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

Georgia Southern

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1/13/2023 7:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

James Madison Dukes (11-7, 2-3 SBC) vs. Georgia Southern Eagles (11-7, 4-1 SBC)

January 14, 2023 -- 7 p.m.

Harrisonburg, Va.. -- Atlantic Union Bank Center

Game Links
Live Stats · Video: ESPN+ · Audio Broadcast

Tickets · JMU Game Notes

JMUSports.com · @JMUMBasketball · #GoDukes

GSEagles.com · @GSAthletics_MBB

QUICK HITS

Following three straight single-digit defeats, James Madison men's basketball will look to rebound at home, taking on the Georgia Southern Eagles at the Atlantic Union Bank Center Saturday evening.
The Dukes suffered a heartbreaker on Thursday, falling to South Alabama 63-62 in Mobile. After trailing by as many as 13 in the second half, JMU pulled to within one in the final seconds, but were unable to score on the game's final possession. Cold shooting hurt the Dukes as the team shot 39% from the field and just 16% from three.
Redshirt sophomore Terrence Edwards helped spur the comeback for JMU with a team-leading 20 points against South Alabama, making a season-high nine field goals in the effort. Edwards has three games of at least 20 points this season, most on the roster.
Through 18 games, Justin Amadi (.653), Mezie Offurum (.630) and Xavier Brown (.600) are all shooting at least .600 with at least 45 shot attempts. Edwards sits at .599 clip and leads the roster in made field goals with 82.
Offurum, a Mount St. Mary's transfer, has made his presence known both on the scoresheet and the glass. He has double-figure scoring in 11 of his 15 games this season while also grabbing five or more rebounds in 11 of 15.
With 15 steals against South Alabama, JMU is up to 200 on the season, leading the nation in total steals and ranking third in steals per game (11.1). Thursday's 15-swipe effort was the fifth time the Dukes had at least 15 steals this season.
The Dukes reached four blocks for the fifth time this year against USA after only doing so three times last season.
JMU is looking to reverse its struggles from three as of late, shooting 25-of-114 (.219) from deep in its last six games.
In eight wins over Division I opponents, the Dukes have won by an average of 25.4 points, with margins of 48, 35, 26, 19, 17, 36, 16 and six points.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

Coming off a dramatic buzzer-beating win courtesy of Jalen Finch at App State on Thursday, Georgia Southern is 4-1 in conference play and tied with Troy atop the Sun Belt Conference standings through five games.
Redshirt senior Andrei Savrasov leads in scoring with 13.4 points per game. He put up 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting on Thursday.
In conference play, Georgia Southern leads the league with 29.4 defensive rebounds per game. Overall, the Eagles have outrebounded opponents by a combined 50 boards across their four league wins.
Georgia Southern guard Tai Strickland is the older brother of JMU guard Terell Strickland. This is the first time the brothers have faced each other in college, but the Dukes bested their father, LIU head coach Rod Strickland, in a 115-79 victory back on Dec. 18.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the first ever matchup between the Dukes and the Eagles.
Mark Byington will coach against his former school, where he went 131-97 over seven seasons, for the first time. Since arriving at JMU, Byington is 3-1 against schools at which he was previously on staff (Virginia, College of Charleston).

GAMEDAY INFO

Tickets for the 2022-23 JMU Men's Basketball season are available here.
Parking is available in the Ballard Parking Deck next door to the Atlantic Union Bank Center - parking pass holders should enter through the North Entrance of the Ballard Parking Deck, while the South Entrance will remain open for general parking.