VALDOSTA, Ga. - Gulf South Conference play is upon us, as the Valdosta State men's basketball team will square off against the West Florida Argonauts on Saturday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. EST at The UWF Field House in Pensacola, Fla.
Despite the showdown coming at a very early point in the 2017-18 season, the contest quickly developed into a highly anticipated matchup. Both teams will carry perfect records into the game on Saturday, and both teams have taken similar paths to get to there as participants in two of the same tournaments during their early non-conference schedule. Valdosta State currently sits at 6-0 overall, and the Argonauts hold a 7-0 record. As the popular phrase goes, "Something's Gotta Give."
The Blazers enter the matchup as one of the most proficient offensive teams in not only the conference, but also the nation. Valdosta State currently leads the GSC in scoring by a significant margin with an average of 96.2 points per game during the course of their aforementioned perfect start. The number exceeds the next highest GSC team by 10 points and places the Blazers 7th in the country on the scoring leaderboard. Furthermore, the Blazers also hold the top spot among GSC stat leaders in terms of scoring margin, as VSU has outscored their opponents by 20.2 points this season.
For their current trend of offensive production to continue, the Blazers will have to contend with the Argonaut defense. West Florida has taken a different path than the Blazers on their path to early season success, and the team's strong start can be highly attributed to their defensive efforts. Heading into Saturday's game, UWF has allowed fewer points per game than any other team in the Gulf South Conference at 63.3. As a result, the Argonauts have managed to outscore opponents by an average of 12.6 points per game, despite ranking 11th in the league in scoring.
Individual standouts for both programs thus far include Valdosta State's
Beau Justice, who is averaging just under 20 points per game and ranks fifth in the league among all active scorers. Meanwhile, Darryl Tucker has fueled the Argonauts with a double-digit average in both scoring and rebounds. In fact, along with Tucker's 17.3 points per game average, his average of 11.4 rebounds per game currently represent the only double-digit total in the GSC.
Saturday's contest can be heard live on Talk 92.1 FM in Valdosta or on www.talk921.com. Links to all available forms of coverage can be found prior to the game via links available right here at www.vstateblazers.com.
