Tuesday, November 27
7 p.m. ET – Kennesaw State (1-6) at Georgia (3-3)
Location: Athens, Ga. | Stegeman Coliseum
Links: SEC Network+ | Live Stats | Game Notes

Top Storylines
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team takes the short trip east to face in-state rival Georgia Tuesday at 7 p.m.
» The Owls look to break out of their current six-game skid after dropping their most recent game against Belmont this past Saturday.
» Redshirt Junior Tyler Hooker continues to be a huge scoring presence for the Owls after breaking his career-high for the second straight game with 30 points against Belmont. He has recorded 10 or more points in all but one game this season, 20 or more in three. Hooker leads the ASUN averaging 19.6 points per game.
» Senior Kyle Clarke had a record day against EKU logging a career-high 20 points. With Hooker's 29 points against the Colonels it marked the first time two Owls scored 20 or more points in a game since Nick Masterson and James Scott at Lipscomb last season.
» As a team, the Owls have done a good job of rebounding so far this year, averaging 36.3 rebounds per game to rank fourth in the ASUN. Both Bryson Lockley (6th) and Kosta Jankovic (15th) rank among the league's top-15.
» So far this season, KSU is averaging 3.1 blocks per game which would rank among the all-time top-10 DI single-season averages. Two Owls, Isaac Mbuyamba and Antonio Spencer, rank among the league's top-5 blockers with seven blocks each.
» KSU had a huge influx of new talent this year, welcoming four freshmen and four transfers, including Antonio Spencer who joined the team in January.

The Matchup
Tuesday's game marks only the third all-time meeting between the in-state foes. The Bulldogs won both previous matchups.

Georgia is currently 3-3 on the year after dropping its most recent game to Georgia State, 91-67, for its second straight loss. Tom Crean is in the midst of his first season at the helm of the Bulldogs after spending the last nine years at Indiana.

UGA currently has three players averaging over 10 points per game, led by sophomore Rayshaun Hammonds with a 14.5 ppg average. Fellow sophomore Nicolas Claxton has been tearing it up as well averaging 11.5 ppg while averaging eight rebounds per game to lead the team. Claxton also has a team-high 14 assists and eight steals.

Last Time Out
Tyler Hooker put the team on his back recording a career-high 30 points against Belmont, but a pair of late runs from the Bruins to close out the first and second halves propelled Belmont to a 91-53 win.

The Owls and the Bruins battled throughout the opening minutes of the first half, as a layup from Isaac Mbuyamba knotted the game at 9-9 at the 15:26 mark. After a three-pointer form Belmont's Caleb Hollander, KSU proceeded to go on a 12-3 run over the next five minutes to lead 21-15.

Belmont fought back to tie the game, 24-24, following a layup with 7:19 left to play. That layup sparked a 19-0 run for Belmont to lead 41-24 at the 2:45 mark. Hooker finally broke the drought for KSU scoring the Owls' final seven points of the half, but KSU still trailed 45-31 heading into the locker room.

KSU and Belmont went shot-for-shot to open the second half, but the Bruins began to heat up from outside the arc, utilizing three straight three-pointers to take a 68-41 lead at the 10:21 mark. After two layups from Hooker made it 74-48 with 7:55 left to play, the Owls proceeded to go without a bucket for the next seven minutes as Belmont built an 88-50 lead.

Freshman Adili Kuerban finally broke the drought with a three-pointer with 33 seconds left, his first career points at KSU. The Bruins were 7-of-15 from three-point range in the second half.

Hooked On Scoring
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker has put on a scoring display throughout the early portion of the season, scoring 10 or more points in all but one game, and 20 or more points in three contests. Against Belmont, he set a new career-high for the second straight game scoring 30 points against the Bruins to mark his second straight game with 25 or more points.

He is currently averaging 19.6 points per game to lead the ASUN. He is one of only five players in the league to net over 100 points so far this season. Hooker's 137 total points ranks 21st in the NCAA with his 47 made field goals placing him 25th in the nation.

He also ranks among the nation's best at the free throw line with 33 made buckets at the charity stripe. That mark leads the league and ranks 33rd in the NCAA.

If he can continue at this pace, Hooker would rank among the top-5 single-season scorers all-time at KSU.

Now Boarding
The Owls have been big on the glass recording 254 total rebounds to rank second in the ASUN and 56th in the nation. Seven Owls have recorded over 20 rebounds on the year with four logging over 30.

KSU's current 36.3 rebounds per game average ranks fourth in the league and would break the previous Division I single-season record of 35.9 set in 2016-17.

Four Owls rank among the league's top-25 rebounders, Bryson Lockley (6th), Kosta Jankovic (14th), Isaac Mbuyamba (T-19th) and Tyler Hooker (22nd).

Got It On Lockley
Redshirt-junior Bryson Lockley has enjoyed a tremendous all-around performance in the early portion of the season. He is currently leading the team with 41 total rebounds to rank tied for sixth in the ASUN. He is one of two Owls, the other being Isaac Mbuyamba, with 10 or more offensive and defensive rebounds.

Lockley is currently averaging 5.9 rebounds per game, which ranks seventh in the league, surpassing his 3.4 average from last year.

In addition to that, Lockley is averaging 4.7 points per game while recording four blocks and five steals.

Blocking Out The Sun
Freshman Antonio Spencer and junior Isaac Mbuyamba have begun to establish their presence around the net this season, combining for 14 of KSU's 22 total blocks.

Spencer and Mbuyamba each have seven blocks to rank tied for fourth in the ASUN. Mbuyamba is the Owls top returning blocker after recording 26 stuffs last season, a mark that ranked sixth in the league.

As a team, the Owls are averaging 3.1 blocks per game to rank fifth in the league with their 22 total blocks placing them third.

Free Money
The Owls have made the most of their chances at the charity stripe so far this season, making 81 buckets from the line to rank fifth in the ASUN.

In KSU's recent game against Eastern Kentucky, the Owls sank 31 free throws which is tied for third most all-time in a single-game.

Tyler Hooker currently leads the conference with 33 made free throws on the year, shooting 78.6 percent from the line. Three Owls are currently shooting 70 percent or better from the charity stripe.

Like The Energizer Bunny
Tyler Hooker and Bryson Lockley just keep going and going, running the floor for the Owls so far this year, averaging 35.1 and 33.0 minutes per game, respectively, to rank second and fourth in the conference.

Hooker and Lockley both rank among the nation's top-50 for total minutes played so far this season. Hooker ranks 15th with 246 minutes on the floor while Lockley is 35th after logging 231 total minutes.

The Serbian Showstopper
Senior Kosta Jankovic is second on the team averaging 8.6 points per game.

He recorded a season-high 13 points against Missouri, marking the third time this season he has finished in double-figures. In his career, Jankovic has scored over 10 points in 12 games, three of those games coming this season.

Jankovic recorded nine of his 10 points against Kansas State in the first half, logging seven of KSU's first nine points of the game to give the Owls an early 9-8 lead. He put on the another first half performance at Samford, recording KSU's first two buckets of the night, logging four of his seven points in the opening minutes.

Back in Black (and Gold)
Kennesaw State's seven returners will have some big shoes to fill after losing nearly half of last year's squad to graduation or transfer, including the Owls' top-2 scorers in James Scott and ASUN Second Team All-Conference honoree Nick Masterson.

Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker is KSU's top returning scorer, averaging 10.8 points per game last year. He was also second on the team for assists (79) and steals (38). Kyle Clarke and Kosta Jankovic are the lone seniors on a young Owl squad. Clarke and Hooker are the only two returners to record over 100 points, 50 assists and 30 steals.

The Owls will rely heavily on junior Isaac Mbuyamba in the paint. Mbuyamba led the team last year with 26 blocks and was second with 131 total rebounds.

Fresh Faces
The Owls welcome a large crop of newcomers this season with the potential to vie for a starting role. In total, KSU will have eight new faces, four freshmen and four transfers, including Antonio Spencer who joined the team in January of this year, but did not see any action.

KSU gains some height at the forward position with three of the four newcomers standing at 6'9" or taller.

The Owls also gain a surge of much needed depth at the guard position with the addition of four guards, including transfer Bobby Parker who led Mineral Area CC averaging 14 points per game. Joining Parker is Danny Lewis, a three-star recruit who transferred from UCF after being red-shirted last season, and C.J. Washington who averaged 16.7 points per game during Tompkins High School's historic playoff run to its first Region III Class 6 Championship. 

To Be The Best You Have To Play The Best
The Owls have a formidable non-conference schedule this season, featuring five matchups against Power-5 teams.

After the Owls' season-opener, they jump right into the deep end, traveling to face last year's elite eight squad of Kansas State. The following week KSU heads to the Virgin Islands to play in the Paradise Jam Tournament. KSU opens the tournament against SEC foe Missouri with the potential to face either Oregon State or Old Dominion in the second round.

KSU then returns to the states to take on perennial OVC powerhouse Belmont before squaring off against the likes of Georgia, Tennessee Tech and Georgia Tech before opening conference play.

Owls Picked To Finish Seventh In ASUN
The Kennesaw State men's basketball team was selected to finish seventh in both the preseason Coaches and media polls.

The Owls have qualified for the ASUN tournament four years in a row, finishing sixth or higher in each year. KSU's best finish in the conference 

Skinner Enters Fourth Season
Al Skinner enters his fourth season as head coach of Kennesaw State. Since joining KSU, Skinner has led the Owls to 25 wins over the past three seasons, tying the best three-year stretch since moving to Division I (25 wins from 2005-08).came during the 2016-17 when the Owls went 7-7 in league play to tie USC Upstate for fourth. KSU has recorded at least six wins in league play the last three seasons. The Owls 20 wins over that span marks the best three year stretch for KSU since its first three seasons in Division I from 2005-08 (26 wins).

Looking Ahead
Following Tuesday's game, the Owls are back in the Convocation Center to host Hofstra Saturday at 2 p.m.

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