THE BASICS
Rhode Island (4-7) at Georgia State
Tip-Off: Sunday, Dec. 18, 2:00 p.m. EST
Coverage: ESPN+ | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes

RHODE ISLAND VS. GEORGIA STATE - SERIES NOTES

• Rhode Island and Georgia State are facing each other for just the fourth time Sunday.
• The Rams last visited Georgia State on Dec. 10, 2011, falling 96-64.
• URI has won the last two games in the series, including a 94-59 victory in Rhode Island last season.
• The Panthers were limited due to complications from COVID-19 and had just eight players available for the game last season.
• Rhode Island made 15 3-point shots in the game last year, a season high for the Rams.
• Ishmael Leggett had 20 points and Malik Martin added 12 points and six rebounds in the win.
• Both teams have had struggles offensively this season. Rhode Island ranks 326th nationally in field goal percentage at 40.1 percent, while Georgia State is 320th at 40.6 percent.
• Georgia State is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the nation, averaging 13.3 offensive boards per game. That ranks eighth in the country.
• Rhody is playing just its second true road game of the season. The first was a 53-49 loss at Boston College.
• The Rams have won two straight contests while Georgia State has dropped its last two games.

SILK OWENS TO MAKE DEBUT ON VARSITY NETWORK

• Rhode Island legend Carlton "Silk" Owens will serve as the color analyst for the Varsity Network audio stream of the game.
• Owens will joined play-by-play man Stone Freeman for the contest.
• This is the first of five games Owens will call this season.

RAMS SEEING UPTICK IN OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION

• Rhode Island has scored a season-high 77 points in each of its last two contests, both of which were wins.
• Since the start of December, Rhody has scored at least 74 points in three of four games.
• In November, the Rams scored 74 points twice in seven games and was held to 66 or less five times.
• The Rams are now 3-2 when scoring at least 70 points.
• Guard Jalen Carey has helped offensively since returning to the rotation, scoring 12 points against Army and 11 against UMass Lowell.
• Carey had missed the previous five games with a groin/hip injury.

LONG RANGE SHOOTING SHOWING SIGNS OF CONSISTENCY

• While Rhode Island has struggled with 3-point shooting this season (.280 as a team), the Rams are shooting .339 (20-of-59) from beyond the arc over the last three games.
• URI was 7-for-18 against Brown, 6-for-22 against Army and 7-for-19 against UMass Lowell.
• The Rams have made six or more 3-point shots five times this season, going 3-2 in those games. The losses were a 78-75 defeat against Tulane in the Cayman Islands Classic and a 59-58 loss to Brown.

THOMAS THIRD IN A-10 IN ASSIST-TURNOVERS

• Sophomore guard Sebastian Thomas has 34 assists and 17 turnovers this season.
• His 2.0 assists-turnover ratio ranks third in the Atlantic 10 behind only Duquesne's Tevin Brewer (3.1) and Saint Louis' Yuri Collins (2.8).
• Thomas needs just four assists to reach 100 for his career.
• Earlier this season, he had a career-high 10 assists while recording his first double-double (13 points, 10 assists) in a win over Stony Brook.
• Thomas is averaging 4.7 points, 3.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game this season.