Despite the challenges facing new Georgia Southern head coach Brian Burg, from a global pandemic to adjusting to players he had not seen play in person, he has impressed so far in 2021.

Through 17 games, the Eagle currently have a record of 10-7 and are 4-4 in Sun Belt conference play. This slots them at third in the East division of the Sun Belt.

Offensively, the Eagles have been one of the more efficient teams in college basketball so far. As a team, the Eagle currently have a cumulative field goal percentage of 46.8%, which is good enough for No. 61 in the country.

Zack Bryant, a transfer from UAB who was forced to sit out last season, has burst onto the scene as one of the most explosive scorers in the Sun Belt. His 14.4 points per game is good enough for tenth in the conference. In addition to Bryant, Elijah McCadden and Eric Boone also average more than 10 points per game.

On defense, the Eagles have been extremely effective as a team. The 67.4 points given up on average by the Eagles barely misses the top-100 in the country, but is still impressive. One area where Brian Burg’s team is elite is in steals as the men are currently No. 16 in the country in steals per game with 11.1.

Junior guard Eric Boone has easily been the most effective defender on this Georgia Southern team. Boone averages an impressive 2.3 steals per game, which is good enough for No. 23 in the country.

Looking ahead, the Eagles have a lot of winnable games remaining on the schedule. However, the upcoming series against Coastal Carolina may be the most important weekend of the season so far. If the Eagles can pull off their second weekend sweep of the season they will vault themselves to second in the East division.