Thursday night in Charleston, S.C., the Georgia Southern University men’s basketball team will face the College of Charleston at 7 p.m.

The Eagles (14-12, 12-4 Southern Conference) defeated the Cougars (17-11, 8-8 SoCon) on Jan. 21 inside Hanner Fieldhouse, 64-58. If the Eagles pick up the victory they will clinch second place in the SoCon’s South Division, a massive improvement over last year’s single conference victory and last place finish. With a victory, the Eagles can earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament. The bye could prove vital to an Eagle team that looks to shock the conference and go from worst to first in just one season.

WIN STREAK: The Eagles will enter this game with a league-best six-game win streak. At the beginning of the year, much was said about the team’s struggles on the road away from Hanner, but the Eagles have won their last three road games, proving GSU is hitting its stride at the right time to end the season and head into the conference tournament.

SHOOTING PERCENTAGE: The Eagles currently rank 33rd in the nation in shooting percentage at 47.4 percent per game. There isn’t one key player CofC can focus on to stop. The Eagles have offensive weapons all over the floor. The Cougars shoot a respectable 42.5 percent, but that’s only good enough for 221st in the country. The Eagles shot 49.1 percent against the Cougars in the first matchup and held their opponents to just 35.7 percent. Look for more of the same this game.

ADVANTAGE: GSU

KEY PLAYER- Eric Ferguson

Ferguson had 19 points and eight rebounds in the previous matchup against CofC, hitting a big three-pointer in the final minutes to seal the victory. Ferguson currently leads the team in points per game, rebounds and blocks. He ranks within the top five in five different categories of the SoCon and in the top 10 in two other categories. He is putting forth a strong case for SoCon player of the year. Look for Ferguson to have another monster game and possibly pick up another double-double on the season.

KEY NUMBER- 11

GSU is on course for one of the greatest turnarounds in SoCon history. The Eagles currently have 12 conference wins, which is 11 more than last season. That ties them with Richmond University (1952-53) and Auburn University (1926-27) for the second greatest turnaround from one season to the next.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: GSU 68-62