VALDOSTA, Ga. – The ninth-ranked Valdosta State men's basketball team opens the 2019-20 Gulf South Conference slate Saturday at Christian Brothers at 4 p.m. ET, and then plays at Union on Monday evening at 8:30 p.m. ET.  The Blazers are 4-0 on the year.
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.  The games will be broadcast on Talk 92.1 WDDQ in Valdosta with Spencer Van Horn having the call of the games.
 
VSU has not played since a 64-58 victory at Albany State last Thursday where the Blazers won their fourth game of the season and swept the Golden Rams with a pair of six-point victories as the Blazers won the previous week in Valdosta, 93-87 in the second game of the season.  
 
The Blazers also downed Brewton-Parker 100-68 last week as senior Darrell Jones highlight the game with the first Blazer triple-double since 2012-13.  Former Blazer Josh Sparks had 23 points 15 rebounds and ten blocks in a Dec. 11, 2012, game at Fort Valley State.  Jones finished with a career-high 16 rebounds and 10 assists, along with 11 points in the game.  For the week, Jones averaged a double-double with 13.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in two starts, going 10 of 18 from the field (.556) with on triple and 6 of 8 from the line.  He pulled down 23 rebounds and finished with 11 assists and two steals.  Jones earned GSC Co-Player of the Week honors for his efforts last week.
 
Following the 4-0 start, VSU moved up to ninth in the latest NABC/Division II Men's Top 25, released Tuesday.  The Blazers are the top-ranked team in the poll from the Gulf South Conference, as Alabama Huntsville moved up five spots to 11^th from the preseason poll.  Nova Southeastern is ranked second in the poll, while Florida Southern, who VSU faces next week over the Thanksgiving Weekend in Lakeland, Fla., is 18^th in the poll and Barry University is receiving votes for teams from the South Region.   
 
This season, the Blazers are shooting .465 from the field on 127 of 273 from the floor.  VSU is 29 of 96 from beyond the arc (.302) and 83 of 112 from the line as the team has made 30 more free throws than the opposition has attempted in four games.  VSU is averaging 45.0 rebounds per game, while recording 62 assists, 52 turnovers, 24 blocks and 31 steals.  The team is averaging 91.5 points per game, while allowing 73.5 points per contest.  
 
Senior Bryce Smith leads the team averaging 19.0 points per game on 26 of 45 from the field.  He is 15 of 17 from the line with nine triples.  Second on the team in scoring is senior Clay Guillozet at 17.3 points per game.  Guillozet is 26 of 46 from the field with five shots from downtown and 12 of 19 form the line, while averaging 8.0 rebounds per game for second on the team.  Jones is third in scoring at 14.8 points per game, while leading the team averaging 10.8 rebounds per contest.  Jones is 21 of 39 from the field and 16 of 18 from the line, while leading the team with 16 assists.  Sophomore newcomer Imoras Agee is fourth in scoring at 12.8 points per game.  
 
VSU is under the direction of 15^th-year head coach Mike Helfer, who has guided the team to three-straight Gulf South Conference regular season titles and three-straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.  Helfer is 281-137 at VSU and 467-220 overall in his 23^rd season of coaching.
 
Christian Brothers begins conference play with a 2-2 record after an 81-68 win over Freed-Hardeman on Tuesday.  The Bucs used a 49-36 second half after the game was tied at 32 at intermission.  This season, CBU split a pair of games against Central State (Ohio) as both won on its respective court and the Buccaneers lost 92-52 at then-No. 6 Lincoln Memorial. 
 
The Bucs are averaging 63.3 points per game, while shooting .404 from the field on 72 of 178.  CBU is 21 o 75 from range (.280) and 25 of 41 from the line (.610).  The Bucs are averaging 36.7 rebounds per game and 18 assists per contest.  Nick Deifel leads the team averaging 12.0 points per game on 13 of 39 from the field.  He has three triples and is 7 of 8 from the line, while averaging a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game.   
 
CBU is under the direction of first year head coach John T. Reilly as he came to CBU after 14 years at Gannon (Pa.).  He was the all-time winningest coach at Gannon with a 242-162 record, including two conference titles and five appearances in the NCAA Tournament, with one Elite Eight appearance.  
 
VSU downed Christian Brothers 84-71 on Dec. 1, 2018, in the only meeting between the two teams last season in Valdosta.  Guillozet had 17 points as the top returning scorer from last year's meeting for the Blazers, while Deifel had 12 points off the bench for the Bucs.  
 
Union is 3-2 on the year after a pair of wins last week in a 98-70 victory at Lane College and an 88-72 victory over Williams Baptist University.  The Bulldogs opened the season with a 90-80 win at Spring Hill College and roped a 72-59 decision at Lane College and a 72-63 setback at Southern Arkansas. Union will host West Florida, before entertaining the Blazers Monday evening.  
 
The Bulldogs are averaging 79.6 points per game, while shooting .461 from the field (140 of 304) and 57 of 164 from range for a .348 clip.  Union is 61 of 81 from the line (.753) and is averaging 35.2 rebounds per game.  The team has 75 assists with 71 turnovers, 28 steals and nine blocks.  Tyree Boykin leads the team averaging 24.0 points per game as he is 40 of 80 from the field with 16 triples and 24 of 28 from the line.  Tylandrius Parks is second in scoring at 13.8 points and Ousmane Gueye is third at 13.0 points.  Union is under the direction of 11^th-year head coach David Niven, who is in his 23^rd season with the program.  Niven is 176-129 at Union.  
 
VSU won both meeting with Union last season in Valdosta as it opened league play with a 91-80 and then won 92-76 in the GSC Quarterfinal on Super Tuesday.  Guillozet is the top returning Blazer in the two meetings last season as he scored 31 points combined in the two meetings.