Saturday, December 12
2 p.m. ET  – Kennesaw State (2-2, 0-0) vs Dalton State (0-1, 0-0)
Links: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Location: Convocation Center | Kennesaw, Ga.
Game Notes: KSU

TOP STORYLINES
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team looks to get back on the plus side as it returns to the Convocation Center Saturday afternoon to host in-state foe Dalton State. The 2 p.m. affair marks the first time KSU and Dalton State will square off on the hardwood. The Roadrunners current Head Coach Alex Ireland is a former Owl, graduating from KSU in 2012. He took over for former KSU men's basketball Head Coach Tony Ingle who led both the Owls and DSC to DII and NAIA National Championships.

» The Owls head into Saturday's game coming off road losses to UAB and No. 9 Creighton, but KSU has consistently come to play at home with 25 of its last 33 wins taking place in the Convo. The Owls had an average winning margin of over 50 points in their first two home games of the season. 

» Junior transfer Spencer Rodgers has netted double-figures in every game so far this season to lead the team and rank fifth in the ASUN with a 15.3 scoring average. Rodgers had one of his best all-around games of the season so far at Creighton, finishing with six rebounds and five assists, both one shy of tying his career highs, while adding 10 points.

» Terrell Burden, along with freshman Kasen Jennings, is one of two Owls to record at least 10 assists so far this year. Burden currently ranks tied for sixth in the ASUN with 15 total dimes and at least two games in hand on all but one of the other top-10 assisters in the league.

» Despite dropping its last two games, KSU remains one of the top defensive teams in the league, holding opponents to a 40.3 shooting percentage to rank second in the ASUN. The Owls rank fourth in the conference averaging 6.8 steals per game while leading the league averaging 4.0 blocks per game. Freshman Cole LaRue is tied for third among the league's shot blockers with five blocks to his name so far this year.

» Freshman Chris Youngblood has been tearing it up in his first games as an Owl, currently ranked second on the team averaging 12.8 points per game. He currently ranks 14th in the ASUN and is the only true freshman to rank in the league's top-20 for scoring. Youngblood is also one of two players in the league to average over 10 points per game while averaging less than 20 minutes per game. He has hit at least three three-pointers in all but one game this year, placing him sixth in the ASUN averaging 2.8 treys per game.

ROGER RODGERS
Junior transfer Spencer Rodgers has been deadly in his first season wearing the Black and Gold, netting double-figures in every game so far while shooting 50 percent from the floor. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native ranks ninth in the ASUN for shooting percentage and is one of six players to shoot 50 percent or better with at least 40 field goal attempts.

Rodgers leads the Owls averaging 15.3 points per game, recording a season-high 21 points against Toccoa Falls. He finished 7-for-8 against the Screaming Eagles, 6-for-7 from three-point range, not missing a shot until two minutes into the second half.

Rodgers' nine made three-pointers currently puts him at 12th in the conference.

Rodgers had one of his best all-around games of the season so far in his last outing at No. 9 Creighton, finishing with six rebounds and five assists, both one shy of tying his career highs, while adding 10 points.

THE THREE AMIGOS
The highly touted Georgia trio of Chris Youngblood, Brandon Stroud and Kasen Jennings have certainly lived up to the hype in the early part of the year. Youngblood and Jennings are second and third, respectively, on the team for scoring with the trio combining to record over a third of KSU's total points scored. 

Youngblood made a major impact in his debut almost instantly, draining three straight three-pointers in just over a minute and a half after hitting the floor. He led the team with 17 points in just 15 minutes of action against Carver. Youngblood ranks 14th in the ASUN for scoring, making him the only true freshmen to rank among the league's top-20.

He is also ninth in the league with 11 made three-pointers on the year, having netted three or more in all but one game.

East Coweta teammate Stroud had a slow start in KSU's season-opener, netting just three points on 1-of-6 shooting, but was big off the ball with four rebounds, three steals and two assists. He upped his game against Toccoa Falls going 4-for-5 for 10 points while adding another four rebounds and two assists. He is second only to Jennings with six steals while adding six total assists.

Crosstown rival turned teammate Jennings holds the team and ASUN lead for steals with eight. Jennings has hit double-digits in two games this year to average 7.0 points per game. He is one of two Owls, trailing only Terrell Burden, with at least 10 assists (11) on the season to put him in a tie for 14th in the league. He pulled down a team and career-high seven rebounds at UAB and is third on the squad with 17 total boards.

RETURN OF THE MACKS
The 2020-21 season-opener marked the return of breakout players Terrell Burden and Armani Harris after suffering season-ending injuries in 2019-20 and so far, the duo has not missed a beat.

Burden is averaging 4.5 points per game, shooting 7-for-13 from the floor. Off the ball he leads the Owls with 15 assists, recording a career-high eight against Toccoa Falls. He is one of eight players in the league with 15 or more dimes. 

Despite averaging less than 15 minutes per game (12.5), Harris has netted 19 points across the four games while pulling down 12 rebounds.

Both Burden (14) and Harris (8) appeared in less than 15 games their freshmen seasons but remained some of the top Owls in multiple categories.

Burden was one of the Owl's top scorers a year ago, averaging 9.5 points per game while netting double-digits seven times. He was the Owls' leading scorer in five games, including a career-high 21-point performance against Wofford. Despite playing in half the games, Burden still finished last season ranked third on the team for total assists, dishing out 30 dimes. 

Harris saw his freshman season cut short after just eight games, appearing in all eight games to open the 2019-20 slate. In that short span, Harris was a force in the paint averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. He recorded seven or more boards in five of his eight games, including a season-high 15 against FIU. Harris also averaged 7.1 points per game, hitting double-figures in three games. He recorded his first career double-double in his final appearance against FIU, netting 10 points and 15 rebounds.

BRING YOUR UMBRELLAS
The Owls have made it rain in the Convocation Center, shooting over 50 percent in their first two games of the season while netting 27 three-pointers. KSU's 55.6 shooting percentage against Toccoa Falls is the Owls' best shooting performance since shooting 56.9 percent at Lipscomb in February of 2018.

The Owls have only shot over 50 percent one other time over the previous two seasons.

KSU drained a Division I program record 18 three-pointers in its win over Toccoa Falls with six Owls netting two or more treys. Spencer Rodgers led the way going 6-for-7 from beyond the arc, 5-for-5 in the first half alone, putting him one triple shy of tying the single-game record. 

The Owls' 35 three-pointers over the first four games is already more than the first eight games combined of the 2019-20 season. Both Chris Youngblood and Rodgers rank ninth and 12th in the ASUN with 11 and nine made three-pointers on the year.

The game against Toccoa Falls also set DI records for points scored (106) and winning margin (62). The Owls' 106 points scored marked only the fourth time since moving to Division I that KSU has hit the century mark and the first time since the 2016 season.

Rodgers is one of 14 players in the ASUN to shoot 50 percent or better so far this season. 

UP NEXT
After Saturday's game, the Owls head to Music City to take on Belmont Wednesday (Dec. 16) at 7:30 p.m. ET

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