CORVALLIS, Ore. – Coming off its first loss of the season on Saturday, the App State Mountaineers (1-1) continue their 15-day road trip in Corvallis, Ore., where they will take on Pac-12 foe Oregon State on Tuesday. Tip off from Gill Coliseum is set for 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) and can be streamed on the Pac-12 Network.
App State's road trip to Oregon will be the first time the team has traveled this far West since 2000 when they competed in a Thanksgiving week Tournament in Hawaii. That tournament in Hawaii also marks the only other time the Mountaineers have faced the Beavers.
The Mountaineers have shown resiliency after losses in recent history, winning six of their last eight games coming off a loss. In the Kerns era, the Black & Gold have won 34 games following a loss.
The Matchup
- Who: App State (1-1) at Oregon State (2-0)
- Where: Gill Coliseum // Corvallis, Ore.
- When: November 14 // 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT)
Tune In
- Watch: Pac-12 Network Oregon
- Listen: 97.3 WKBC, 96.5/1450 WATA, 790/93.7 WETB, 1250/103.9 WBRM
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
As part of the inaugural SBC/MAC challenge, the Mountaineers fell 78-91 to the Northern Illinois Huskies last Saturday. After this week's action, the MAC leads the challenge 7-5. The MAC/SBC challenge will conclude in February with the next leg's opponents being decided in January.
Donovan Gregory and
Christopher Mantis led the way for the Mountaineers on Saturday with 17 and 16 points respectively. Mantis' 13-point second half provided a much-needed spark off the bench to quickly cut a 12-point Husky halftime lead to three with nine minutes to play in the half, but Northern Illinois kept its composure and picked up their first win of the year.
Four players scored in double-figures on Saturday, including Gregory,
CJ Huntley,
Justin Abson and Mantis. Saturday's game made it six of the last seven games that App State has had four players reach the 10-point threshold.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Expectations are high for the Mountaineers coming into the 2023-24 campaign as they were picked to finish second in the Sun Belt in the preseason coaches poll, giving them their highest preseason conference ranking since they were picked to be the co-favorites in the Southern Conference in 2010-11.
The Mountaineers were ranked No. 19 in the first College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll, marking the second time the team has been ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 in Kerns' tenure and the first time the team has been in the first Mid-Major Top 25 poll ever. App State is the only Sun Belt team to be featured in the first ranking.
Scoring 82.5 points per game on the young season, the Mountaineers currently sit third in the Sun Belt in that statistic. The Mountaineers boast a balanced offensive attack as six players are averaging at least eight points a game. The Mountaineers have never finished higher than eighth in the Sun Belt in scoring offense and haven't finished in the top five since 2018-19.
Offensive rebounding and second-chance points have been a major component of App State's offensive production so far this season as they are outrebounding their first two opponents 35-16 on the offensive glass. The 19-rebound advantage on the offensive backboard has resulted in 32 Mountaineer second-chance points compared to just 14 for their opponents.
Scouting the Beavers
Oregon State has won their first two contests of the season, including a one-point win over fellow Sun Belt member Troy in double overtime last Friday. Four players tallied double-digit points on the night with Tyler Bilodeau leading the way with 18 while also grabbing 12 boards.
Offensively, four Beavers score over 10 points a game with preseason All-Pac-12 second team selection Jordan Pope leading the way, averaging 16 a night.
Beaver head coach Wayne Tinkle is in his 10th season at the helm of the program and has his Beavers off to their eighth 2-0 start in the last 10 years.
Series History
Tuesday's matchup in Corvallis will mark the first time the Mountaineers and Beavers will meet in nearly 23 years and the first time App State will play at Oregon State. The last time the two teams matched up came in the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii, where the Beavers beat the Mountaineers 37-60.
Kerns has never faced the Beavers as a head coach, but he does have experience against Pac-12 opponents, facing UCLA in Los Angeles in 2018 as head coach at Presbyterian. Kerns and Tinkle have never coached against one another.
Next Up
After Tuesday, the Mountaineers will have the next week to prepare for their next game against the UNC Wilmington Seahawks at the Fort Myers Tip-Off Event in Fort Myers, Fla. Tip off from Suncoast Arena is set for noon.
