Week 17 Men's Basketball Preview: Coastal Carolina

Coastal Carolina just took down the, at the time, conference-leading Marshall Thundering Herd on senior night, to improve to 17-12 (9-7 Sun Belt). They will look to build momentum going into the conference tournament, looking for revenge on Georgia State and James Madison, both teams who took them down in Conway.

Coastal Carolina at Georgia State

Coastal’s first stop in the final week of the regular season is Atlanta, where it will face Georgia State (10-19, 7-9). After starting Sun Belt play 6-3, the Panthers have lost seven of their last eight games, most recently falling at home to James Madison.

Georgia State and the Chanticleers have already met once this season, with the Panthers going into Conway and beating Coastal 89-71 on Jan. 3. In that game, Coastal led by as many as 11 early in the second half, but Georgia State shot 14 of 15 from three-point range in the second half to pull away. Malachi Brown, Jelani Hamilton and Trey Scott all scored more than 20 points.

On the season, the Chants are led by Josh Beadle, who has been on a scoring tear lately. Since the Georgia State loss, when he scored just two points, Beadle is averaging 21.2 points per game and has scored in double figures in 12 of the last 13 games. In that 13-game stretch, the Chanticleers are 9-4. RaSheed Jones and AJ Dancler are also averaging just over 15 points per game and have shown they can score 30 on any given night. Jones led the team with 29 points in the win over Marshall.

Hamilton leads the Panthers in scoring at 17.8 points per game, which ranks fourth in the conference, just ahead of Beadle. Freshman Micah Tucker has impressed in conference play and is now second on the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game while leading the team in assists at 3.1. Brown is the third Panther averaging in double figures at 11.8 points per game and leads the team in three-point percentage at 37.4%.

A hot shooting night, similar to the game in Conway, could be one of Georgia State’s paths to victory. The Panthers’ offense ranks among the least efficient in the country, according to KenPom, sitting at No. 330. Georgia State is also last in the nation in two-point percentage and third-to-last in effective field goal percentage. On the defensive side, the Chants rank first in adjusted defensive efficiency in the conference, according to KenPom, and are near the top nationally in both two-point defense and effective field goal percentage defense. That combination of Georgia State’s offense and Coastal’s defense could make for a long night offensively for the Panthers.

Tipoff: Tuesday, Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN+

Radio: WRXZ 107.1 (Coastal Carolina), WRAS 88.5 (Georgia State)

Coastal Carolina at James Madison

Coastal finishes the regular season by traveling to James Madison (16-13, 8-8), facing the Dukes for the second time in as many weeks. James Madison is on a five-game winning streak, including a 67-65 win over the Chants in Conway. The Dukes will host Georgia Southern two days prior.

Despite Beadle scoring a near career-high 31 points in the first meeting, his two missed free throws with less than one second remaining allowed the Dukes to escape with the win. Cliff Davis was the only James Madison player in double figures with 22 points. Coastal also saw its three best three-point shooters in Dancler, Jones and Reggie Hill, combine to go 3 of 21 from beyond the arc. As head coach Justin Gray said in the postgame press conference, the Chants will not win when that happens.

In that matchup, the Dukes scored 40 points in the paint, which is rare against a Chanticleer defense that is elite against two-point field goals. KenPom also ranks Coastal second in the country in average two-point attempt distance allowed. James Madison outrebounded Coastal in that game as well, another rare occurrence, as the Chants average nearly four more rebounds per game than their opponents.

Justin McBride leads James Madison in scoring at 16.1 points per game, but Davis has taken on a larger scoring role over the last month. He has led the Dukes in scoring in seven of their last eight games, including a 27-point performance in their most recent win over Georgia State.

While much of the focus will be on the stars, the role players could prove critical. Both teams’ centers are coming off career nights. Gabe Newhof scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds in his last outing, his second-highest scoring game of the season and his most points against a Division I opponent. Nadjrick Peat recorded his first double-double of the season against Marshall with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while also breaking the school record with seven blocks.

With the game coming in the regular-season finale, it could have a major impact on the conference standings. Coastal currently sits seventh but is only 1.5 games out of first place, while James Madison is eighth and 2.5 games back of the top spot. Both teams have been playing well lately, and whichever enters the conference tournament with momentum could be a dark horse to reach the NCAA Tournament.

Tipoff: Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN+

Radio: WRXZ 107.1 (Coastal Carolina), JMU Sports Network (James Madison)