Georgia State’s men’s basketball players didn’t seem to like to talk about their recent win streak as the number grew larger, eventually reaching 14.
They have no such problems talking about the number needed to clinch at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference’s regular-season title.
“Our magic number is 2,” coach Ron Hunter said after Thursday’s 75-60 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
He later added: “Two more wins gets us to the postseason where we want to get to. Two more wins also means we get to hang a banner here. That’s real important because that’s a goal we set. Once you get that goal you can move on to postseason play.”
The Panthers (19-7, 12-1) will host Louisiana-Lafayette (18-9, 9-5) on Saturday with a chance to cut the magic number in half.
Georgia State is 3 1/2 games ahead of the Ragin’ Cajuns (four in the loss column) and three games ahead of Western Kentucky with five regular-season games remaining. A Panthers win Saturday, coupled with a loss by the Hilltoppers, would clinch one of the top two seeds in the Sun Belt tournament.
Those seeds come with a bye to the semifinals, making winning the championship and earning the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament slightly easier.
Western Kentucky will play host to Louisiana-Monroe at 8 p.m. Saturday, 30 minutes before the Panthers take on the Ragin’ Cajuns. It doesn’t sound as if Hunter will have anyone telling him what goes on in Bowling Green, Ky.
“We want to do this on our own,” Hunter said. “We started this on our own, we want to finish it.”
Also breaking form from what was said publicly during the win streak, Hunter’s players are just as aware of what they need to do.
“Saturday’s game is very important,” Markus Crider said. “It puts it down to one. And if it gets down to one, it’s our destiny to win a championship for this school.”
The game should be interesting for several reasons. It will be Georgia State’s fourth game in a week, so fatigue will be something to watch. Hunter said he tried to rest his starters Thursday, but said tired legs seemed evident as they missed shots they usually make. However, he said his team rarely has consecutive poor shooting games.
Louisiana-Lafayette is in the race for one of the top spots. Winners of six consecutive, the Cajuns trail the Hilltoppers by one in the loss column. Lastly, though Georgia State is in its first season in the Sun Belt, there’s already bad blood between the Panthers and the Cajuns.
After Georgia State defeated his team 77-70 in Lafayette in January, Cajuns coach Bob Marlin complained about the calls that R.J. Hunter received (he shot 14 free throws, making 12), the number of free throws the Panthers shot (37 to his team’s 17), and the fact that Ron Hunter sometimes walked onto the floor.
“We have to deny him (R.J. Hunter) the ball, but then they start calling holds,” Marlin said after the game. “He gets everything. They played six on five; his dad was on the floor half the night. There’s nothing we can do if they are going to get those calls.”
Once again breaking form, Georgia State’s Manny Atkins said Marlin’s comments add a little spice to Saturday’s matchup, as if any more were needed.
“It is (motivating), just a little bit,” Atkins said. “At the same time, there’s been a lot going on this season. There’ve been a lot of haters.
“We just put that in the back of our head and keep playing basketball.”
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