Men’s Basketball Takes on Texas State in SBC Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 9

Pensacola, Fla.

5 p.m.

Troy University

Texas State

Men’s Basketball Takes on Texas State in SBC Quarterfinals

3/8/2024 4:13:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Troy Notes (PDF)ESPN+Listen Live Live Stats

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Troy men's basketball team begins its hunt for a Sun Belt Tournament championship on Saturday night as they battle Texas State in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. in the Pensacola Bay Center.

Troy (20-11, 13-5 SBC) is coming off a very successful regular season that saw it win 20 games for the third consecutive season and its most conference wins since the 2008-09 season. That impressive play allowed Troy to secure the No. 3 seed and a double-bye in the tournament.

Texas State (16-17, 7-11 SBC) clinched spot in the quarterfinals after defeating Southern Miss on Thursday night in the second round.

The two teams faced off in the regular season finale in San Marcos, Texas, with the Bobcats defeating the Trojans 82-79 in overtime.

Game Information
The Matchup: No. 11 Texas State vs. No. 3 Troy
When: Saturday, March 9, 2024 – 5 p.m.
Location: Pensacola, Fla. – Pensacola Bay Center
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: Troystats.com
Watch Party: Baumhower's Victory Grille

Title Hunt
The Trojans enter the Sun Belt Tournament looking for its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since the 2016-17 season. Troy will need to win three games in as many days to accomplish its ultimate goal.

Christyon Eugene continues to lead the way with his team-high 15.2 points in the regular season. Earlier this week, the guard was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team. Eugene scored in double-figures in 26 of 31 games and finished the season sixth in the conference in points per game.

Eugene is no stranger to big games, as he scored 26 points in last year's quarterfinal matchup against James Madison.

Also receiving postseason recognition was Myles Rigsby, who was named the SBC Freshman of the Year, and Tayton Conerway, who was named the conferences' Sixth Man of the Year honor.

Rigsby averaged 11.6 points and was especially impressive in conference play. Against SBC opponents he averaged 13.4 points on 49.3 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3 and 84.4 percent from the line. Rigsby is also Troy's best defender, which will be very crucial during postseason play.

Conerway was a spark plug for the Trojans all season, as he scored 11.6 points off the bench and led the bench unit to 29.26 points per game – best in the Sun Belt and 15th nationally.

Flashback to Friday
The Trojans struggled last week when they took on Texas State in San Marcos. The Bobcats won the game on the boards, as they outrebounded the Trojans 42-33 and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds – leading to 17 fastbreak points and 48 points in the paint.

Troy has been a strong team all season in the rebounding department, and will need to get back to those ways in the tournament. On the season the Trojans are averaging 38.7 rebounds per game, a top-50 mark nationally.

Despite the loss, the Troy defense forced Texas State into 17 turnovers. This season Troy has generated 10 or more turnovers in 26 games and 15 or more turnovers in 17 games. Many of those turnovers have come via steals. Troy is sixth nationally in steals per game at 10.3. Conerway leads the team with 64 steals, the best in the SBC and 27th nationally.

Scouting Texas State
Texas State has already won two games in the SBC Tournament after defeating Old Dominion in the first round and Southern Miss on Thursday night. Dontae Horne scored a career-high 20 points to help the Bobcats take down the Golden Eagles. Jordan Mason added 18.

Mason is the leading scorer for Texas State this season at 12.8 points per game. Brandon Love has scored 10.4 ppg and sits at 5.5 rebounds. Love also leads the team in blocks with 48, good for third in the conference.

All-Time Series
The Bobcats lead the all-time series 10-8 and the two teams have gone 1-1 against each other this season. Troy won its home game 78-65 on Jan. 24.

The two squads have met just once in the Sun Belt Tournament and it came in the 2017 championship game, which Troy won 59-53 to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Notables and Tidbits
• Troy is looking for its first Sun Belt Championship since the 2016-17 season. The Trojans played Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Troy is the only team in the SBC to have won 20 regular season games in each of the last three season. The Trojans are also the only SBC team with double-figure conference wins in each of those three seasons.
• The Trojans received three postseason Sun Belt honors: Christyon Eugene was named All-Sun Belt First Team, Myles Rigsby was named Freshman of the Year and Tayton Conerway was named Sixth Man of the Year.
• Troy has won at least one SBC Tournament game in its last three trips to Pensacola. Last season, Troy defeated Arkansas State in the second round.
• Troy sits at 136 in the NET Rankings – third in the SBC. In the KenPom Ratings, the Trojans are sitting at 126 – third in the Sun Belt.
• According to KenPom.com, Troy is the youngest team in the Sun Belt and the 20th youngest team in the country.
• Troy has 94 combined starts by players who had not started a D-I game prior to this season.