Georgia State basketball gearing up to make another NCAA memory

Georgia State’s men’s basketball team is tired of hearing about “The Shot” as it heads to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament.

That shot happened four years when No. 14 seed Georgia State had its magical upset over No. 3 seed Baylor in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. 

R.J. Hunter hit a deep 3-pointer at the top of the key with 2.6 seconds left in the game, his dad, head coach Ron Hunter fell out of his stool, where he sat as he was nursing a torn Achilles, and Georgia State made history. 

Annoyingly for the Panthers today, they’re regularly asked about all three of those things. It’s because they haven’t produced a bigger moment since — last year, they had a chance against Cincinnati as a No. 15 seed but lost by 15 points.

No. 14 seed Georgia State (24-9) has its “shot” at changing that Friday night against No. 3 seed Houston (31-3). 

“I don’t even like hearing (about) it honestly,” Georgia State’s leading scorer D’Marcus Simonds said. “Every time I (hear), ‘Where do you play ball?’ (And I say), ‘I play at Georgia State.’ They’re like, ‘Oh yeah! R.J. Hunter and his dad when he fell off the stool. Cool, dude.’” 

Houston is a juggernaut that the Panthers haven’t faced this year, though. The Cougars grabbed the third most rebounds in the nation during the regular season. Interestingly, two guards 6-foot-5 or shorter lead Houston in rebounding.

Georgia State starts a 6-6 center and is tied for 304th in rebounding. That center, Malik Benlevi, enters the game on a three-game double-double streak.

He was named the Sun Belt Conference Championship Most Outstanding Player for notching two double-doubles, including game-highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds in the finals. 

The entire starting lineup scored in double-figures but was largely ineffective except for Damon Wilson, who scored 13 points. Georgia State hasn’t shot to its 38.5 3-point percentage in its past three games. 

“They’ll be back Friday,” Benlevi said. “I know that for sure.”

The “they” he speaks about are the other four Panthers that average 10 or more points per game. Simonds averages 18.4 points, Devin Mitchell 12.2, Jeff Thomas 12.1 and Kane Williams 11.3.

Houston is led by guards Corey Davis Jr. and Armoni Brooks, averaging 16.7 and 13.6 points per game, respectively. They’ve each made 100 or more 3-pointers this season. The Cougars shoot 35.9 percent from deep this season.

A rejuvenation from the struggling Panther offense could help in a big way against Houston’s dominant defense that was eighth in scoring defense entering the tournament.

Georgia State is the only team in the nation to have four players make 50 or 3-pointers this season — Mitchell, Simonds, Thomas and Benlevi. Mitchell, a Collins Hill grad, will be the best 3-point shooter on the floor. He’s 17th in the nation with a 42.9 percent mark on long balls.

Both teams have depth at the guard position. Georgia State is much more equipped in that regard this year as compared to last year against Cincinnati.

Last season, Mitchell started every game he suited up for. He has came of the bench during the past three games in favor of 6-5 guard Damon Wilson.

“Being able to have Damon and Kane grow into their roles and do their thing out there has helped us, along with me, Jeff and D’Marcus,” Mitchell said. “That’s five guys right there that can really score the ball and make plays. Anybody is going to have a problem with that.”

The deciding factor of the game may come down to size like it did against Cincinnati when the Panthers were outrebounded 46-26 and mustered just three free-throw attempts.

Georgia State has cut its lineup to six players for the majority of its last two games. Its 6-9 center Jordan Tyson had three blocks in those games during only 16 combined minutes of playing time.

In two of Cincinnati’s three losses, it has shot worse than 30 percent on 3-pointers and made less than 10 of them.

Georgia State is playing some of its best defense of the season recently just as its offense is struggling. Its final three opponents have made 4 of 18, 5 of 26 and 7 of 33 on 3-pointers.

Tipoff is at 7:20 p.m. Friday and the game is broadcast on TBS.