552 - Troy at Georgia State
March 1 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
It's just time for the Sun Belt Tournament to begin because honestly, I have no idea what's going to happen to GSU next week in New Orleans. This season has been all over the place:
* On a neutral court in November they lost by 15 to Prairie View, a team that immediately lost eight consecutive games (they've since rebounded and are 11-6 in SWAC play with one regular season game to go, but that's still a pretty bad loss). Twelve days later, they blew a double-digit lead at home and lost to Liberty in overtime.
* Non-conference road losses to Mississippi (77-72) and Dayton (88-83 in overtime) should've been wins. Neither the Rebels or Flyers have had the type of seasons those programs are accustomed to, but those were still missed opportunities.
* They put together a 10-game winning streak where the defense was fantastic and they looked like the best team in the league.
* What turned out to be the final win of that streak was an impressive, 106-92 victory over Louisiana on February 8. The Ragin' Cajuns had been unbeaten in league play and on their own 10-game winning streak coming in (they've since started a new, six-game winning streak, re-establishing themselves as the favorite in New Orleans).
* And GSU has helped out considerably because that's now four losses in five games since the win over Louisiana after Thursday's 83-70 setback. The defense, once one of the best 25 or so units in the country, is now a liability. Troy was the fifth of GSU's last six opponents to score more than 80 points after two of the first 24 opponents reached that point total.
So after the regular season finale Saturday against South Alabama, the Panthers will be the No. 2 seed next week.
A championship run & a berth in the NCAA Tournament? Sure, I could see that happening.
Quarterfinal exit to a much lower seeded team? Sure, I could see that happening.
A run to the title game only to lose to top seed Louisiana 144-141? I could also see that happening.
An enjoyable time with very little stress? I'm having trouble seeing that.
551 - Troy women at Georgia State
March 1 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
I'd say Troy is about sick of seeing juniors Janessa Murphy and Kierra Henry.
Murphy and Henry each scored 25 points, completing an outstanding pair of games against Troy and GSU picked up a big victory, 85-78.
In two games against Troy this season (the teams split the series), Murphy scored 25 in each (tying a career-high) and was 14-of-20 from three-point range. She knocked down seven threes in each game, and when the guard is hitting outside shots like she has against the Trojans, GSU (8-20, 4-13 Sun Belt) can be dangerous as a lower seed in next week's league tournament.
Henry dropped 28 points on Troy in late-December to give her a 26.5 average in the two games, and the forward shot 59% (19-of-32).
Troy is an incredible rebounding team (No. 1 nationally coming into the night) and Thursday was no different. The Trojans grabbed 52 rebounds (three above their average), led by Sky'Lynn Holmes' 17.
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