The Valdosta State Blazers have only played one game since the turn of the new year. They are a well rested group, which is certainly good news, considering the gauntlet they are about to run.

The Blazers (13-2) play their first of three crucial games in five days tonight. At 8 p.m., they’ll begin Gulf South Conference play against North Alabama. Then on Saturday, the Blazers host No. 9 Alabama-Huntsville, the preseason pick to win the GSC. On Monday, it’s a rematch of last year’s thrilling game against Augusta State on the road.

It’s 120 minutes of basketball in 120 hours, with two games coming against top 10 teams.

However, you won’t find any Blazer or coach looking beyond tonight.

“It’s a huge week, but you have to take it one game at a time,” senior guard Christian Hunter said. “(Thursday) night, we have North Al, and that’s our focus right now. Then after that, we’ll focus on the next game. Take it one day, one game at a time. That’s all you can do.”

Hunter and the rest of the Blazers take their cue from head coach Mike Helfer. When asked what his feelings were about playing Alabama-Huntsville and Augusta State, two top 10 teams, Helfer said, “Our feelings are we’re excited about playing North Alabama.

“When you’re looking at playing multiple games in multiple days, you just have to hope your team has built up some conditioning throughout the year and you’re able to withstand basically 120 minutes in five days. But for us, we’re just trying to play 40 minutes on Thursday.”

North Alabama (7-9) is making its second trip to the P.E. Complex this season. The Lions were a participant in the Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Challenge back in November. They were beaten soundly by SSC schools Eckerd and Florida Southern, but Helfer said they’ve gotten better.

“They have a lot of new guys, and it took a while for them to learn Coach (Bobby) Champagne’s system. I think they’ve learned it. They’re playing good basketball right now,” Helfer said. “It’ll be a traditional Gulf South battle. Bodies will be flying, kids will be diving all over the place. It’s going to be a great first game in the Gulf South for both teams.”

Ricky Davidson leads the Lions with 15.3 points per game, and Marcus Landry averages 11.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

The Lions beat GSC West teams Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas before getting wiped out 98-58 at Division I Missouri. They bounced back to beat Concordia-Selma on Saturday.

“They’re very good,” Helfer said. “They shoot it exceptionally well. We have to make sure we’re tuned in and ready to play that game. I expect them to play very well here.”

The Blazers are excited to open GSC play against the Lions, but their fans are anticipating the matchups against No. 9 Alabama-Huntsville and No. 5 Augusta State, which come on Saturday and Monday, respectively.

Both games will feature battles between top 25 teams, as the Blazers cracked the top 25 for the first time this season. They are ranked 24th in the latest coaches’ poll.

“We haven’t talked about rankings,” Helfer said. “Our team has a lot of new guys, and I think our team has a lot of areas to improve and a lot of room to grow as a team.”

The Blazers will need to be at their best against Alabama-Huntsville (13-2). The Chargers return almost everyone from last year’s team that tied VSU for the GSC East championship and split with the Blazers in the regular season. The Chargers, who run the Princeton offense, are led by point guard Josh Magette and forward Zane Campbell.

The scoreboard should get lit up. The Chargers and Blazers are No. 1 and No. 2 in field goal percentage in the GSC. The Blazers are also first in the GSC in 3-point shooting percentage, while the Chargers are second. The Blazers are second in the country in scoring, averaging 92.6 points per game. Only West Liberty (122.6) averages more.

Like North Alabama, the Chargers have experience in the P.E. Complex. They also played in the GSC/SSC Challenge. They also made the long trip back to Valdosta again in December to play in The Loop Pizza Grill Classic.

Helfer said he believes the Chargers’ two trips down to Valdosta were more in an effort to play in-region games than get comfortable in the P.E. Complex for Saturday’s game.

“(Chargers head coach) Lennie (Acuff) does a great job of coaching their team, and I’d expect their kids to not only be good, but because they’ve been in that system so long, be even better,” Helfer said. “I’d expect them to come in here and play really well.”

The final game for VSU in its brutal five-day stretch is at Augusta State on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

The Blazers and the Jaguars played a wild game in the P.E. Complex last January. Augusta State was No. 1 in Division II at the time, but the Blazers beat the Jaguars in front of a packed house, 81-75, for the first win in school history over a top-ranked team. The students rushed the floor for the first time in years after the Blazers pulled off the upset.

The teams were as good the rest of the season as they were that Saturday afternoon. Both teams won their regions and advanced to the Elite Eight. The Blazers and the Jaguars were seeded to meet in the national championship game, but each lost in the Elite Eight round.

Each team lost a lot of great players after the season. VSU lost seven seniors, and the Jaguars lost All-American Ben Madgen and key pieces in Fred Brathwaite and Alex Smith.

However, the Jaguars (12-1) haven’t suffered. They climbed all the way to No. 3 in the country before suffering their first loss at Flagler. When they dropped to No. 5 this week, it became the 57th consecutive week they’ve been ranked in the top 25. That’s the longest streak in school history and the sixth-longest streak in Division II history.

The streak indicates that Augusta State has lost great players before, only to see the next group of great players crop up the following year. This season, George Johnson (16.1 points per game) and Franck Ndongo (14.4 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game) have shouldered the load.

“Great program,” Helfer said. “Coach (Dip) Metress is a great coach. I think what those kids have said is, ‘Nobody knows us by name, but they know the name on the front of the jersey.’ Those kids are playing their rear ends off, and I think that’ll be a great environment once we get up there. But again, we have to stay focused on North Alabama. Hopefully we’ll have a big crowd in here, because they’re our sixth man.”