LAFAYETTE, La. – As the Sun Belt's stand-alone game on Wednesday, the App State Mountaineers (6-4) will open their conference schedule in Lafayette, La., where they will square off with the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (2-9) at the Cajundome. Wednesday's contest in Lafayette will mark the Mountaineers' first visit to the Cajundome in the Kerns era. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT (7 p.m. CT) and can be streamed on ESPN+.
App State is set to begin season No. 11 in the Sun Belt Conference on Wednesday against Louisiana. Since joining the league in 2014, App State is 5-5 in Sun Belt openers and 3-2 in the Kerns era. Last year, App State posted a double-digit win against ULM in its Sun Belt opener, marking the first time since Dec. 19, 2019, that the Mountaineers have opened their conference schedule with a double-digit victory.
Additionally, the Mountaineers are set to open their conference road slate on Wednesday. In 2023-24, the Mountaineers went 7-2 in road games against Sun Belt foes, which was the program's best record in the Sun Belt era away from home. In fact, App State's seven road triumphs a year ago were the most wins against league opponents since the 2006-07 season.
Since joining the Sun Belt, App State has claimed 90 wins against league opponents and has accumulated a 90-93 record in Sun Belt play. In the Kerns era, the Mountaineers have posted a .500 or better record in all but one of the past five years in conference play, which includes a program-record 16 wins a season ago to claim the Sun Belt's regular-season crown.
The Matchup
- Who: App State at Louisiana
- Where: Cajundome // Lafayette, La.
- When: Wednesday, Dec. 18 // 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT)
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | Dan McDonald (PxP), Eric Mouton (Color)
- Listen: FLAGSHIP 97.3 (North Wilkesboro), 96.3 (Winston-Salem/Greensboro), 1350/96.1 (Asheville), 1250/103.9 (Marion), 790/93.7 (Johnson City) | Matt Present (PxP)
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
Despite jumping ahead by as many as 15 points in the first half, a strong second-half push from High Point and a poor shooting frame from App State helped the Panthers claim a six-point victory at the Novant Health Fieldhouse in Greensboro last Saturday. The two teams met for the 97th time, which tied Elon for the fourth-longest series against one team in App State men's basketball history.
Neither team shot the ball well in the contest as both teams were held below 40 percent from the field. Additionally, the two teams combined to net just 11 threes on 43 attempts. The two teams combined for just 124 points, marking the fewest points scored in an App State/High Point game since Feb. 26, 1966.
Myles Tate and
CJ Huntley paced all scorers in the game, scoring 24 and 14 respectively. Tate's 24 points fell one shy of his career high of 25, which he set last February at Marshall. Huntley tallied his fourth straight double-digit point outing against the Panthers and needs just 17 points to become App State's 37th member of the 1,000-point club.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State is 6-4 on the season and enters Wednesday's contest in Lafayette in a tie for fourth place in the Sun Belt standings. Despite the setback to the Panthers last time out, App State has shown resiliency following losses over the past two seasons as it has won six of its last seven games following a loss. The Mountaineers have yet to endure a two-game losing streak this season.
Continuing the trend of the past three seasons, the Mountaineers enter Saturday's contest as the Sun Belt's leader in scoring defense, allowing just 64 points a game. Over the last six games, App State is giving up just 61 points a game and has kept three opponents (Sam Houston, Colgate and Queens) at least 15 points below their season average. App State currently boasts the 30th-best scoring defense in the country.
The Mountaineers have been especially stellar at defending the three over the last nine games, keeping their opponents to just 57 made 3-pointers on 230 attempts (25 percent). During this stretch, App State has held three of its opponents (St. Andrews, Queens and Sam Houston) to a season-worst amount of made threes. Entering Wednesday, the Mountaineers boast the 10th-best defense against the three, keeping their foes to just 27 percent from the long line.
Huntley and Tate lead the way offensively for the Mountaineers as both sit in the top 15 in the Sun Belt in scoring. Huntley is scoring 14.6 points a game, which is nearly double his career average and is good for the fifth-best tally in the league, while Tate is one of eight Sun Belt players with at least three 20-point outings this season. As a duo, Tate and Huntley score 28 of the Mountaineers' 71 points a game.
Scouting the Ragin' Cajuns
Louisiana enters the Sun Belt Conference opener with a 2-9 record and has lost eight of its last nine games. The Ragin' Cajuns have played all but four of their games this season in the Cajundome, posting their only two wins of the year on their home floor.
According to the latest NCAA NET rankings, the Ragin' Cajuns have played the toughest schedule in the Sun Belt Conference thus far this season. They have played at No. 8 Houston and three teams (Louisiana Tech, Kent State and Liberty) that are ranked in the most recent Collegeinsider.com Mid Major Top 25 poll.
Head coach Bob Marlin is the Sun Belt's all-time leader in conference wins entering Wednesday with 150. He is in his 14th season at the helm of the program and needs just seven more triumphs to eclipse 500 career wins as a head coach.
Series History
App State and Louisiana will meet for the 12th time on Wednesday with the Ragin' Cajuns holding the advantage at 8-3. Last year, the two teams met in Boone in late February, which saw the Mountaineers claim a 12-point come-from-behind win.
Wednesday's contest will mark the Mountaineers' first trip to the Cajundome in the Kerns era. The last time the two teams met in Lafayette was March 3, 2019, a game that App State won 90-80. Since the Mountaineers joined the Sun Belt in 2014, the Mountaineers and Ragin' Cajuns have squared off four times at the Cajundome, with the 2019 victory being App State's only win at Louisiana.
Head coach
Dustin Kerns is 1-2 in his career against Louisiana.
CJ Huntley and
Myles Tate provided 16 points off the bench in last year's win. Huntley has seen the floor twice in his career against the Ragin' Cajuns and is averaging 9.5 points a game against them.
Next Up
The Mountaineers will trek to Denton, Texas, where they will square off with the North Texas Mean Green to close the 2024 calendar year on Friday. Friday's game against the Mean Green will be the first meeting between the two programs in exactly 30 years. Tipoff from the Super Pit is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) and can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
