BOONE, N.C. – Following an offseason filled with changes, Appalachian State University men's basketball looks to get the 2014-15 campaign off on the right foot when it travels to Ohio University for the season opener at 2 p.m. on Saturday inside the OU Convocation Center.
The Mountaineers and Bobcats are both under new leadership this season as Jim Fox enters his first year at the helm of App State and Saul Phillips is in his first year as the head man for Ohio.
Saturday's contest can be heard live on WZJS-FM 100.7 in the High Country and worldwide on appstatesports.com by clicking HERE. Fans can also watch Ohio's live stream of the game by clicking HERE.
THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA
• Appalachian State enters a new era this season as it competes in its inaugural season in the Sun Belt Conference after 40-plus years as a member of the Southern Conference.
• In addition to joining a new league, the Mountaineers also find themselves led by a new face as Jim Fox enters his first season at the helm of the program.
• Fox became the 21st coach in App State history on April 8, 2014 after spending 13 ultra-successful years at Davidson College, where he helped guide the Wildcats to six NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2008.
• In addition to Fox, an entirely new staff of assistant coaches was hired. To help rebuild the Mountaineers, Fox brought in Jason Allison (VMI), Bryan Lentz (Texas) and Mantoris Robinson (Fairmont State).
• The Mountaineers return a total of nine players from last season, including one redshirt (Jacob Lawson). Appalachian brings back four of its five starters from a year ago, including third team preseason all-Sun Belt selection Tab Hamilton.
• To bolster its depth across the board, Appalachian brought in seven newcomers. Included in that group are five guards and two forwards. Three of the seven newcomers signed National Letters of Intent while the other four came via walk-on spots.
SEASON OPENERS
• Appalachian State is 50-39 (.562) all-time in season openers. While the Mountaineer basketball program has existed for 95 years, year-by-year results do not exist for each season.
• The Apps are opening the year on the road for just the 37th time in school history. App State is 8-28 in season openers on the road.
• The Mountaineers have opened the year on the road just four times in the past 10 seasons and are 1-3 in that stretch, with the lone win coming at Tulsa (89-86) in the 2010-11 opener.
SERIES HISTORY
• Appalachian State is 0-1 all-time against Ohio. The lone meeting between the teams came on Dec. 27, 1991 at the Cowboy Shootout in Casper, Wyo.
• Ohio won the contest, 92-76, despite an outstanding performance from Appalachian's Steve Spurlock, who led the Mountaineers with 20 points.
• The Mountaineers are 2-4 all-time against teams from the Mid-American Conference. Appalachian is 2-0 vs. Toledo and 0-1 vs. Ball State, Central Michigan and Ohio.
• App State has not traveled to the Buckeye State since 2009-10, when it dropped a 65-49 decision at Dayton. That year, the Mountaineers went on to finish 24-13 and fell one win shy of advancing to the NCAA Tournament, losing to Wofford in the SoCon title game.
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
• Ohio enters the season picked to finish second in the MAC East Division. The Bobcats earned 92 points and two first-place votes to finish behind division favorite Akron (117 points - 17 first-place votes).
• The Bobcats are coming off a stellar 2013-14 campaign that saw them post a 25-12 record and advance to the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, where they lost to VMI 92-90. Appalachian State assistant coach Jason Allison was on the staff at VMI at the time.
• Ohio's top returning player is senior forward Maurice Ndour. The 6-9 Ndour was selected as a preseason all-MAC East Division honoree. Last season, the Senegal native finished 11th in the league in scoring (13.8 ppg) and was seventh in rebounding (7.0 rpg).
• In addition to Ndour, Ohio returns one other starter in senior guard Stevie Taylor, who finished second on the team in assists (87) and averaged 7.2 points per game.
• The Bobcats are in their first year under head coach Saul Phillips, who had spent the previous seven season as the head coach at North Dakota State, where he guided the Bison to two NCAA Tournament appearances, including an upset of fifth-seeded Oklahoma in the first round of last year's tournament.
• Phillips also guided NDSU to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, its first year of postseason eligibility. The Bison became the first team since Southwestern Louisiana (now UL Lafayette) in 1972 to advance to the tournament in its first year of eligibility.
• Ohio has been a highly-consistent mid-major program since the turn of the millenium. Over the past 14 years, the Bobcats have posted winning records 11 times and earned 20 or more wins six times, including each of the last three years.
UP NEXT
• Appalachian State plays three-straight games to open the year. The Mountaineers will travel to Furman on Nov. 19 before heading to Virginia Tech on Nov. 22.
• The Apps play their first home game of the year on Nov. 24 against Hampton. Appalachian will play just two home games over the first two months of the season, with the other coming on Dec. 7 against Hofstra.
