It may be hard to believe, but Georgia State coach Ron Hunter said the secret to his team’s 10-game win streak is they don’t talk about how many games they have won.
“We are taking it 1-0 that day,” he said.
The players seem to be following their coach. It took Manny Atkins a few seconds to think about how many games the team had won after notching their ninth consecutive win last week.
The Panthers (13-6, 6-0 Sun Belt) will attempt to tie a school record with their 11th consecutive victory when they finish their trip through the Pelican State at Louisiana-Monroe (6-8, 3-3) on Saturday. Behind 33 points from R.J. Hunter, Georgia State knocked off Louisiana-Lafayette 77-70 on Thursday in the first game of their two-game trip.
The Panthers hold a two-game lead in the loss column atop the Sun Belt in the race to secure one of the top two seeds in the conference tournament, which is what Hunter said they are working toward. The two regular-season leaders receive byes all the way to the semifinals of the tournament, making it much easier to win the event and earn the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
“We’re in great shape today,” Ron Hunter said. “Still a long way to go. We will play everyone a second time around.”
The Warhawks were beaten 69-51 by Western Kentucky on Thursday, but Hunter said they are well-coached and feature two tough players in forward Tylor Ongwae and guard Amos Olatayo. They have averaged 28.6 points per game combined.
Louisiana-Monroe prefers to slow the game and run half-court sets. They have averaged 66.6 points per game, compared with Georgia State’s 79.1. Hunter said he must figure out how to increase the tempo.
That was one of the keys to keeping the winning streak going at Louisiana-Lafayette. After scoring only 25 points in the first half, the Panthers pumped in 52 in the second half, including 25 from the free-throw line.
The Panthers have made 76.5 percent of their free throws this season, led by R.J. Hunter’s 90-percent clip.
Another key Saturday will be to stay calm in the first half. Ron Hunter thought his team came out a little too hyped against the Ragin’ Cajuns, who were undefeated at home.
“They came out and wanted a physical basketball game and knocked us on our heels a little bit,” he said. “I told our team in the next 20 minutes we couldn’t be out-toughed.”
