By: Mike Anthony

GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services

To say that this season is “now-or-never” for the Georgia Southern men’s basketball team might be laying it on thick.

Sure, the Eagles have a trio of seniors in Tookie Brown, Ike Smith and Montae Glenn that have been the core of the team since forced into action as freshmen. It would be a shame for the group to rack up over a half-dozen All-Sun Belt nods between them without an NCAA tournament appearance to show for their effort.

But college basketball is as fickle a game as ever. A tough-luck loss here and an injury there can take even the best teams and leave them scrambling for a spot in March Madness.

There are still two full months of play remaining before the national tournament field is filled out, but Georgia Southern currently sits in that unenviable spot of being a team with a lot of potential that can’t seem to catch a break.

The season began with Iowa State transfer and expected frontcourt starter Simeon Carter sidelined for the first few weeks as he recovered from offseason surgery.

The concussion bug that bit Brown last season sank its teeth into two more Eagle reserves early in the season. That hurt the depth that head coach Mark Byington said would be key in the up-tempo transition game that the Eagles attempt to run throughout each game.

Soon after Carter got onto the floor, both Smith and Glenn went down with injuries. The Eagles were down two starters in their first two conference games and while Glenn was back in limited action.

Smith had to undergo surgery on his back. He hasn’t played since Dec. 14 against Brewton-Parker. Word from the team is that he will suit up soon, but no official return date has been announced.

Adding insult to the Eagles’ injury was a Saturday night showdown with Sun Belt power UL Lafayette. The Eagles and Ragin’ Cajuns have played plenty of exciting games at Hanner Fieldhouse since becoming conference rivals in the 2014-15 season.

Saturday was no exception as ULL controlled the action early before Georgia Southern attempted to win for a sixth time this season after trailing by at least 10 points in a game.

The Eagles looked to have pulled it off when Quan Jackson forced a steal and hit a layup for a one-point lead with 12 seconds to play, but a highly suspect traveling call took the points off the board and the Eagles went on to lose.

Georgia Southern is far from out of the running in what should be a very competitive Sun Belt race, but the bad breaks already suffered have to be wearing on the Eagles.

A blown lead at Texas State and Saturday’s controversial loss have the Eagles sitting at 2-2 in conference action. A quick look at the 14 remaining Sun Belt games also reveals that the Eagles’ toughest road games still lie ahead. Due to some unlucky scheduling, they will only have one game against some of the weaker Sun Belt teams as other front-runners have a pair of chances to fatten up.

None of this should be an excuse for the Eagles. They’re far from the only team dealing with injuries or ‘what-ifs’ of close games, but the first two months have been a stinging reminder that having a deep, talented and experienced roster on paper doesn’t win any games on the court.

The good news is that the Eagles are trending towards being healthier and still have plenty of time to work their way up the standings.

But the regular season will be over before long and a conference-wide letdown in early season play pretty much guaranteed that the Sun Belt will be just a one-bid league to the NCAA tournament.

So, it’s time for the Eagles to kick it into gear. They have the talent to get the job done, but it will take a good finish to the regular season and an even better showing for one final week in New Orleans in March.