After a truly up-and-down season, the Eagle men have finally made it to postseason play.

The Eagles finished the regular season as the No. 5 seed in the Sun Belt’s East division, which sets them up to take on the No. 4 seed in the West division: Arkansas State.

GS and Arkansas State did not play during the 2020-21 regular season due to the Sun Belt adopting division-only scheduling.

The Eagles enter the tournament with a record of 13-13 (7-9 SBC), while the Red Wolves are currently 10-12 (7-8 SBC).

On paper, these two teams are eerily similar. However, in many key categories, the Red Wolves have a couple of slight advantages. For example, the Red Wolves are much more efficient from three-point range and from the free throw line.

Marquis Eaton is the Red Wolves player to keep a close eye on. The senior guard is averaging 14.1 points per game while shooting over 41% (33% 3-PT) to go along with 5.1 assists 1.0 steals per game.

Both teams have struggled to close out in close games, which could set up for an interesting finish. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the free throw shooting has been abysmal throughout the season.

This game could go either way, but the sheer talent of a guy like Zack Bryant and veteran leadership from Elijah McCadden should be enough to push the Eagles over the top.

The game is set to tip-off at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and will be televised on ESPN+. The game will take place at the Hartsell Arena at Pensacola State College.

The winner of Friday’s matchup will advance to take on Georgia State, the No. 1 seed from the East division.