ASHEVILLE, N.C. – After 42 years as a member of the Southern Conference, Appalachian State University men's basketball begins its final run at a SoCon Tournament title when it opens postseason play against No. 8 Samford in the first round of college basketball's oldest league tournament.

This year's tournament marks Appalachian's final year as a member of the Southern Conference before it moves to the Sun Belt next year.

The No. 9 Mountaineers (9-20, 5-11 SoCon) will kick off the tournament against the Bulldogs (12-19, 6-1) at 11 a.m. on Friday from the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Asheville.

Appalachian enters the competition with a 42-40 record all-time in the league championships and has won its first game in the tournament five-straight times.

The winner of Friday's matchup will take on top-seeded and two-time defending tournament champion Davidson at noon on Saturday in the quarterfinal round. Whichever team wins the league tournament earn's the SoCon's automatic berth in the NCAA Championships.

Friday's game can be seen live on ESPN3 by clicking HERE. The quarterfinal and semifinals will also be broadcast on ESPN3 (semifinals also on CSS), while the championship contest will be carried live on ESPN2.

A jam-packed weekend of action kicks off on Thursday night when the Yosef Club begins its annual Spring Tour with a kickoff event at Pack's Tavern in downtown Asheville. Registration for the FREE event can be found HERE.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Samford finished the regular season at 12-19 overall and 6-10 in league play.
• The Bulldogs were able to leapfrog Appalachian and claim the No. 8 seed after upsetting Western Carolina on the final day of the regular season (93-86).
• Tim Williams came up huge for Samford, pouring in 32 points against WCU en route to SoCon Player of the Week honors.
• The 'Dogs saw two players earn all-SoCon honors on Tuesday. Tim Williams was voted as an all-league honoree by the coaches and was a second team selection in the media vote.
• Freshman phenom Isaiah Williams earned a spot on both the coaches' and media all-freshman teams and was named as the SoCon Freshman of the Year by the league's media members.
• Tim Williams leads the Bulldogs and ranks sixth in the league in scoring (17.9 ppg) while Isaiah Williams averages 12.4 points per game - tied with UNCG's Tevon Saddler for the league lead among freshmen.
• Appalachian State swept Samford this season and currently owns a three-game winning streak over the Bulldogs.
• While the 'Dogs have proven they can score points (71.1 ppg) - they rank dead last in the SoCon in scoring defense - allowing opponents to post 77.0 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY
• Appalachian State and Samford are meeting for the third time this season and second time in the last week.
• The Mountaineers came away with a 63-57 win in Birmingham last Thursday as they forced Samford into a season-high 25 turnovers en route to their third-straight win over the Bulldogs
• Appalachian is 8-4 all-time against the 'Dogs, but the two have never met in the league tournament.
• App State's win over Samford a week ago marked its third season-sweep in series history (2009-10, '10-11, '13-14)
• The Bulldogs won the first two meetings between the teams before Appalachian reeled off five-straight victories.
• Appalachian enters the SoCon Tournament with an all-time record of 42-40 in the nation's oldest college basketball tournament.
• The Apps are a sterling 10-3 in the first round and have won each of their last five openers at the league championships.
• Appalachian has won at least one game in the SoCon Tournament in eight of the last 10 league championships and has lost its opening game just four times in its last 23 trips to the league tournament.

NOTING THE TOURNAMENT
• Appalachian State plays in its final Southern Conference Tournament this weekend in Asheville.
• The Mountaineers have appeared in college basketball's oldest league tournament a total of 42 times and hold a 42-40 record.
• Appalachian is 10-3 all-time in the first round of the SoCon Tournament and has won 19 of its last 23 tournament openers.
• After earning a first-round bye last season, App State grabbed a 74-60 win over Furman in the quarterfinals before dropping a heartbreaker to Davidson by a 65-62 final in the semifinals.
• In addition to its 10-3 record in the first round, the Apps are 21-18 in the quarterfinals, 9-12 in the semifinals and 2-7 in the league championship.
• Appalachian's last appearance in the league title game came in 2010 when it was defeated by Wofford (56-51) after winning the SoCon North Division during the regular season.
• The Mountaineers' two league titles came in 1979 against Furman (86-83) and 2000 against College of Charleston (68-56).
• This year's SoCon Tournament returns to Asheville, N.C. and the U.S. Cellular Center for the third-straight year.
• The city hosted the tournament for 12-straight seasons from 1984-95.
• Appalachian is 10-12 at the SoCon Tournament when playing in Asheville. The Mountaineers' best showings came in 1990, '91 and '95 when it advanced to the championship game.
• In the previous three seasons under head coach Jason Capel, Appalachian is 3-3 in the SoCon Tournament and has never lost its first game.
• In addition to his team's win over Furman last year, Capel has led the Apps to wins over College of Charleston (2012) and Georgia Southern (2011).
• Appalachian is facing Samford for the first time in the league tournament. The Bulldogs are one of only two teams (Elon being the other) that the Mountaineers have never faced in the tournament.
• Of the remaining eight teams in the league, Appalachian's records are as follows:
    vs. Chattanooga (3-8)
    vs. The Citadel (7-1)
    vs. Davidson (1-4)
    vs. Furman (10-4)
    vs. Georgia Southern (4-1)
    vs. UNCG (0-2)
    vs. Western Carolina (7-2)
    vs. Wofford (1-2)
• Additionally, Appalachian has records against five former SoCon members in College of Charleston (4-4), East Carolina (1-0), ETSU (0-5), Marshall (2-5) and VMI (2-2).
• The App State record for consecutive wins in the SoCon Tournament is four. The Mountaineers won four-straight from 1979-80 and again from 2000-01
• The most consecutive losses for Appalachian in the league tournament is also four.
• The Apps lost their first four tournament games (1972, '73, '74 and '75) in school history.
• In 1986, Appalachian lost in the semifinals to Chattanooga and dropped three-straight first-round games from 1987-89.

LOOKING AHEAD
• The winner of Friday's game has a tall task in front of it as it will face regular-season champion and No. 1 seeded Davidson at noon on Saturday.
• The Wildcats finished 15-1 in league play this season and have won the SoCon Tournament two years in a row and a total of 12 times - five of which have come in the last seven years.
• Should Appalachian advance past Samford and Davidson, it would play in the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Sunday and take on either Elon or Western Carolina.