CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After posting a 76-point win last Tuesday to extend their winning streak to six, the App State Mountaineers (7-2) take to the Queen City where they will matchup with the Queens Royals (6-5) on Wednesday. Tipoff from Curry Arena is slated for 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Wednesday's game kicks off a three-game stretch where the Mountaineers will play in cities located within 120 miles of Boone. The Mountaineers will visit two of the three most populous cities in North Carolina during that stretch in Charlotte (Wednesday) and Greensboro (Saturday).
The Mountaineers have had an impressive start to the season thus far as they are 7-2, marking the first time since 1988-89 that the Mountaineers have started a season 7-2 or better. Additionally, App State's current six-game winning streak is just the 34th winning streak of six games in program history and just the third since 2009-10.
As part of the Mountaineers' six-game winning streak, five of those wins have come against Division I opponents. The last time App State won five straight games against Division I opponents came in 2022 when Coach Kerns' squad beat six straight Division I opponents. It's just the third such streak in the last 14 years.
The Matchup
- Who: App State at Queens
- Where: Curry Arena // Charlotte, N.C.
- When: Wednesday, December 13 // 7 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: ESPN+
- Listen: 97.3 WKBC, 96.5/1450 WATA, 790/93.7 WETB, 1250/103.9 WBRM
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers throttled the Central Penn Knights last Tuesday 111-35 in the Mountaineers largest margin of victory since Nov. 27, 2020, when the Mountaineers beat Carver by 82 points.
Six players tallied double-figure scoring nights against Central Penn with
Josh Hayes leading the way with 18. Additionally, three players tallied double-doubles in Hayes,
Xavion Brown and
Tre'Von Spillers.
Bryant Greene made his first career start against the Knights marking the first time since the 2010-11 season that a player from Boone made a start for App State. Greene racked up a career night, posting 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds in 31 minutes.
Scouting the Mountaineers
The Mountaineers come into play on Wednesday riding a six-game winning streak, which is the second-longest active streak in the Sun Belt. App State has beaten five of its last six opponents by double-digits and have held at least a 10-point lead in every game during the streak. Additionally, the Mountaineers have trailed for just 24 minutes out of a possible 240 minutes during the streak.
App State plays a complementary style of basketball as they boast the second-largest scoring margin in the Sun Belt at 18.6. The Mountaineers pair the lowest scoring defense with the fourth-highest scoring offense in the Sun Belt and lead the country in opponent field goal percentage.
Coach Kerns boasts one of the deepest squads of his tenure as nine players typically see the floor each night. The Mountaineers have seen at least nine players score a basket in five games to start the season. Fifth-year guard
Donovan Gregory leads the charge, averaging 13.0 points per game, but eight players come into play on Wednesday averaging at least seven points.
Defensively, the Mountaineers are one of the nation's best teams at blocking shots this season, averaging 7.1 blocks per game, which is the second-highest mark in the nation. App State currently has two players in the top five in the Sun Belt Conference in blocked shots in Abson (27) and Spillers (15).
Scouting the Royals
The Royals are 6-5 on the young season and come into play on Wednesday having won two of their last three games. Queens won its last game by 48 points, while scoring 112 points, which was the second time in the last three games that Queens has scored over 100 points.
The Royals boast the third-highest scoring offense in the Atlantic Sun Conference, scoring 82.3 points a night. AJ McKee leads the high-powered Royal offense at 17.1 points, which is the fifth-highest mark in the ASUN. Four players average at least 10 points a night for the Royals.
Queens head coach Grant Leonard is in his second season at the head of the program, compiling a 24-20 record. Leonard guided the Royals to their ninth consecutive 15-win season in the team's first season as a Division I program in his first year.
Series History
The Mountaineers and Royals will matchup for the first time ever on Wednesday. This is the sixth opponent already this season that App State will face for the first time in program history.
Coach Kerns has never coached against the Royals and no player on the roster has ever seen the floor against Queens.
Next Up
App State heads to Greensboro, N.C., and the Novant Health Fieldhouse to take on the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs in a neutral site bout on Saturday. It will be the first matchup between the two teams since 2002 and the first trip to Greensboro for the Mountaineers since 2019. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.
