Georgia St. @ Southern Methodist preview

After losing for the first two times this season, Southern Methodist returns home on Monday to take on Georgia State in its final game before American Athletic Conference play begins. Georgia State carries a seven-game winning streak into the matchup after losing its first three Division I games.

After winning its first eight games, SMU was one of just 14 remaining undefeated teams at the time, but the Mustangs were blown out at Georgetown before falling in a double-overtime nail-biter at Georgia. Leading scorer Isiaha Mike, connecting on nearly 47 percent from 3-point range and the best free-throw shooter (90.3 percent) in the AAC, had a career game in the loss to Georgia with points and 12 rebounds. SMU has played strong defense all year, holding seven opponents to under 40 percent percent shooting and limiting Georgia to just 25 points in the first half. The Mustangs will have a tall task in stopping a Panthers offense that ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference with 80 points per game game while shooting over 40 percent from the floor in every contest.

TV: 7 p.m. ET.

ABOUT GEORGIA STATE (8-3): Redshirt junior guard Corey Allen has led the Panthers all season, averaging 15.7 points despite an outlier dud of just two points against UT Arlington, shooting 44 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range, fifth-best in the Sun Belt. Senior swingman Damon Wilson is coming on of late, averaging over 16 points in his last three contests and, while he hasn't taken many threes, he makes them count by connecting on 63.6 percent of them. In addition to averaging almost 14 points, junior guard Kane Williams is third in the Sun Belt with 4.2 assists per game.

ABOUT SOUTHERN METHODIST (8-2): After missing four games in eligibility limbo, sophomore point guard Kendric Davis has made an immediate impact, averaging 15 points and 7.0 assists, the latter good enough for second in the AAC, though he is not yet qualified. After a two-point showing against Northwestern State three games ago, former leading scorer Tyson Jolly is back on the right track, averaging 17.5 points and eight rebounds in the two since. Big man Ethan Chargois has struggled of late, opening the door for 6-foot-10 Texas A&M transfer Isiah Jasey, who made his Mustangs debut against Georgia, scoring six points in 12 minutes.

TIP-INS

1. SMU is 37-4 in non-conference home games under Jankovich.

2. Davis' 3.2 assist-turnover ratio would be tied for 10th best in the country if he qualified.

3. Georgia State has finished in the top two of the Sun Belt regular-season standings since returning to the league in 2013-2014.

PREDICTION: SMU 85, Georgia Southern 75