MONROE, La. -- Appalachian State men's basketball will open play in the Sun Belt Tournament on Tuesday evening. Tip is set for 8 p.m. EST on ESPN+ and on the Appalachian Sports Network from IMG Learfield College.
APPALACHIAN STATE IN THE SUN BELT TOURNAMENT
- The Mountaineers hold a 1-2 record all-time in the Sun Belt Tournament.
- App State posted its first ever Sun Belt Tournament victory last season over Little Rock 93-64Â in the First Round, before falling to UT Arlington in the Quarterfinals.
- In 2016-17, the Black and Gold fell in the First Round to eventual tournament champion Troy.
THE SERIES
- ULM holds a 5-3 edge in the all-time series.
- The two teams split the season series, with App State winning 85-84 in Boone on Feb. 2 and ULM posting an 81-75 victory in Monroe on Feb. 28.
- This is the first time the two teams have met in the Sun Belt Tournament.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
- These two teams split their regular season meetings, with each winning on its home court.
- App State got 32 points from Justin Forrest and a block from Hunter Seacat in the closing seconds in a 85-84 victory in Boone on Feb. 2.
- Ronshad Shabazz tallied a career-high 47 points, but the Mountaineers fell 81-75 at ULM on Feb. 28.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
- App State finished the regular season with a 11-20 mark and a 6-12 record in Sun Belt play, earning the No. 10 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament.
- Ronshad Shabazz leads the Mountaineers and ranks sixth in the league in scoring at 18.5 ppg. Hehas tallied 2,056 points in his career, which ranks second all-time and eighth in Sun Belt history.
- Ronshad Shabazz was named Second Team All-Sun Belt for the second straight season and earned his third all-conference honor of his career. He is just one of six players in program history to be named all-conference in three different seasons.
- App State's team scoring average of 79.9 points is third in the Sun Belt.
SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS
- ULM concluded the regular season with a 16-14 record and 9-9 mark in the Sun Belt after topping Little Rock 79-62 on Saturday.
- Travis Munnings paced the Warhawks with 23 points and seven rebounds. JD Williams added 18 points and Daishon Smith tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
- Daishon Smith ranks second in the Sun Belt in scoring, averaging 22.0 ppg. He also ranks seventh in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 45.3 percent, with Travis Munnings right behind in eighth at 44.8 percent.
- As a team, ULM is shooting 77.6 percent from the free throw line, which leads the league, and is making 9.8 three-pointers a game, which ranks second in the conference.
UP NEXT
The winner of Tuesday's game advances to the Second Round and will take on Coastal Carolina on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, La.
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