PENSACOLA, Fla. -- App State men's basketball is set to face South Alabama on Thursday, March 2 at 12:30 p.m. ET to open the second round of the Sun Belt tournament.
The Mountaineers finished tied for seventh in the Sun Belt standings and received the league's No. 9 seed and a first-round bye for the tournament. South Alabama received the No. 8 seed.
The contest will be played at the Pensacola Bay Center and will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats and listening options available to follow along.
SBC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
App State won the 2021 Sun Belt Championship and has had at least one tournament win every season during the
Dustin Kerns era, dating back to the 2019-20 season.
2014-15 - Did not qualify
2015-16 - Did not qualify
2016-17 - Troy (L, 64-84)
2017-18 - Little Rock (W, 93-64), UT Arlington (L, 68-84)
2018-19 - ULM (L, 80-89)
2019-20 - Coastal Carolina (W, 70-65), Texas State (L, 68-85)
2020-21 - Little Rock (W, 67-60), Texas State (W, 76-73 OT), Coastal Carolina (W, 64-61 OT), Georgia State (W, 80-73)
2021-22 - Georgia Southern (W, 73-60), Georgia State (L, 66-71)
THE SERIES
- This will be the 19th meeting between the two schools in a series that South Alabama leads 13-5, dating back to 2015.
- The programs have split the last six meetings. South Alabama defeated App State, 74-57 during their first meeting this season.
- This will be the first postseason contest between the two programs.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS (16-15, 9-9 SBC)
- App State finished the regular season with the best defense in the league, pacing the Sun Belt in scoring defense (64.5, 34th in the nation) and field goal percentage defense (40.0%, 18th in the nation).
- Donovan Gregory earned Third Team All-Sun Belt honors for his senior season after becoming the first player in App State history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists.
- The Black and Gold have split their last six with wins against ULM, Texas State and Georgia State. The victory over the Panthers was the team's largest road win since 2005.
- Justin Abson is six blocks away from the single-season record at App State. His current total of 69 is 12th in the nation.
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS (16-15, 9-9 SBC)
- South Alabama dropped its regular season finale to Louisiana after a five-game winning streak.
- Isaiah Moore was named First Team All-Sun Belt after averaging 18.5 points per game and 4.5 assists.
- Kevin Samuel earned Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year honors after tallying 2.5 blocks per game and 8.9 rebounds.
- The Jaguars take away the three-point shot better than anyone in the Sun Belt, holding their opponents to 29.3% from behind the arc.
UP NEXT
The winner of this game will face No. 1 seeded Southern Miss (25-6, 14-4 SBC) on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CT/12:30 pm ET.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Tuesday, February 28
Game 1 – (13) Arkansas State 86, (12) Coastal Carolina 69
Game 2 – (11) Texas State 81, (14) Georgia State 76
Thursday, March 2
Game 3 – (8) South Alabama vs. (9) App State – 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 4 – (5) Troy vs. (13) Arkansas State – 2 p.m. CT
Game 5 – (6) Old Dominion vs. (11) Texas State – 5 p.m. CT
Game 6 – (7) Georgia Southern vs. (10) ULM – 7:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 4
Game 7 – (1) Southern Miss vs. Winner Game 3 – 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 8 – (4) James Madison vs. Winner Game 4 – 2 p.m. CT
Game 9 – (3) Marshall vs. Winner Game 5 – 5 p.m. CT
Game 10 – (2) Louisiana vs. Winner Game 6 – 7:30 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 5
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 – 5 p.m. CT
Game 12 – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 – 7:30 p.m. CT
Monday, March 6
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 6 p.m. CT
All Times Central
All Games on ESPN+; Championship Game on ESPN2
