James Madison returns to Sun Belt Conference play Thursday, hoping to build off one of its most balanced performances of the season after a victory against Toledo in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.
But with Georgia State set to visit the Atlantic Union Bank Center on Thursday, Dukes coach Preston Spradlin recognizes his team hasn’t turned promising wins into consistent play.
That said, JMU (12-13, 4-8 Sun Belt) hasn’t been able to enjoy an extended homestand this season either.
Spradlin hopes that, as the Dukes are in the midst of three straight at the AUBC and five of the final seven games of the regular season at home, finishing strong with a string of victories is a real possibility.
“I think just the numbers would tell you every team in the country is going to have more success at home than they do on the road for the most part,” Spradlin said. “It’s the comfort and the familiarity and the confidence and the routine that you get into when you’re playing at home. I think even for us, getting back to playing on Thursdays could help us get into a better rhythm of what your week looks like.”
Playing at home in front of a supportive crowd and limiting the rigors of travel are always major factors on game day, but for an injury-riddled JMU squad, the schedule has created other issues.
Two weeks ago, the Dukes went on the road and knocked off Troy, the first-place team in the Sun Belt, despite leading scorer Justin McBride injuring his ankle and Ike Cornish nursing a bad back.
JMU then had to immediately travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a game at Southern Miss two nights later.
Traveling wasn’t an ideal way for either McBride or Cornish to recuperate, and both missed the next two games, a pair of Sun Belt losses.
As several Dukes continue to deal with nagging injuries, they will have more time to treat those ailments inside the AUBC’s top-of-the-line training rooms and medical facilities.
JMU will also simply get more rest with a lighter travel schedule.
“In terms of your legs and stuff like that, you’ve got an opportunity to kind of stack two light days together,” Spradlin said. “Which hopefully bodes well for you the rest of the week. You’re able to build up a little bit more of a routine. Not having to travel helps with both of those elements to keep guys fresh and be efficient with our preparation.”
Thursday night will be a matchup of two teams hoping to climb the Sun Belt standings and potentially cut down on the number of games it takes to win the Sun Belt Conference tournament in Pensacola, Fla., next month.
Georgia State (9-16, 6-6 Sun Belt) got off to a great start in league play but has lost four straight games heading to Harrisonburg.
Similar to how JMU had a disappointing rebounding effort in a loss to Louisiana, the Dukes were much better in that category in the Toledo victory.
Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes said rebounding will be the key to his team turning the season around in time for the conference tournament.
The Panthers rank 10th in the conference in rebounding margin, and Hayes said that must get better.
“It’s got to come with rebounding,” Hayes said. “We gave up 16 offensive rebounds [in a loss to Troy]. At the end of the day our ability to force missed shots on first shots has been really good. We’ve had an issue all year long. Finishing possessions has been absolutely the most disappointing thing.”
JMU and Georgia State tip off at 7 p.m. Thursday, with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
