Playing good defense is the key to Georgia State’s basketball team extending its school-record winning streak, according to coach Ron Hunter.
The Panthers, winners of 11 consecutive games, will go for No. 12 when they visit George Mason on Saturday in a first-place showdown in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Patriots (11-4, 3-0), picked to finish second in the conference, are led by former Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt and have won four consecutive games.
The Panthers (11-3, 3-0) are coming off one of the bigger wins in school history, a 55-53 victory Wednesday at Virginia Commonwealth, which was the preseason pick to finish third in the CAA and was a Final Four participant last season. Guard Jihad Ali said it was the biggest win of his career. It was so sweet, Ali gave his coach a hug before the team left the court.
While the hug was something Hunter said he will always remember, he gave his team a “B” grade for its performance, citing missed free throws at the end and too many turnovers. But considering the team won 12 games last season, no one’s complaining, especially considering the pattern that’s emerging.
“That game, it’s been like all the other games,” Hunter said. “We controlled the tempo with our defense. Our offense is still a work in progress.”
The Panthers limited the Rams to 27.1-percent shooting, a common stat during Georgia State’s win streak. Only two teams have shot better than 40 percent, and three have shot worse than 30 against the Panthers in the past 11 games. Opponents are averaging 33.5 percent, including 26.1 percent on their 3-pointers.
Perhaps remembering the stumbling Georgia State teams of the past few years, opposing fans have chalked up the Panthers’ success to their own teams’ poor shooting nights or other factors.
Hunter said it may be time to consider something else.
“At some point, you’re going to have to say these kids are pretty good,” he said.
Opponents are backing Hunter.
Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said the Panthers are going to be a factor in the CAA. Georgia State drilled his team, picked to win the CAA, 58-44 on Monday.
Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the Panthers’ 1-3-1 matchup zone frustrated his players.
The zone is aggravating because the Panthers are very athletic and play it very intensely. Hunter said he’s concerned that his team might not play with that same energy Saturday because it will be their third game in six days. He has shortened his bench rotation so that seven players are dominating the minutes, something he said he did previously at IUPUI.
“We are going to go down with our best players,” he said. “I would rather have one of our tired guys on the floor, playing against their subs, than fresh guys who aren’t ready to play.”
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