NORFOLK, Va. – For the final time this season, the App State Mountaineers (22-5, 12-2 SBC) hit the road for a brief two-game stint starting with a matchup against the Old Dominion Monarchs (6-21, 2-12 SBC) on Thursday. App State's visit to Norfolk, Va. Will be the first of two meetings between the two teams in the next week. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
With a win on Thursday, the Mountaineers would secure their first winning season on the road since the 2009-10 team went 8-8 away from the Holmes Center while also being just the fourth winning season on the road this century. The Mountaineers haven't posted a seven-win season on the road since Coach Kern's first year in the High Country. A win on Thursday would secure that.
App State's win over Louisiana last Saturday in the Holmes Center marked win No. 12 in Sun Belt play, which ties the program record for most Sun Belt wins in a season that was set in 2021-22. The Mountaineers have never won 13 Sun Belt games and haven't won 13 conference games since 2009-10. Additionally, a win on Thursday would mark App State's best 15-game start in conference play since the 1997-98 team won 13 of its first 15 SoCon games. The Mountaineers are one of just 15 teams in the nation with at least 12 conference wins entering Thursday.
The Mountaineers are up to 22 wins through their first 27 games after beating Louisiana last Saturday, which matches the fewest number of games an App State team has needed to reach 22 wins as a Division I program. The only other team that got to 22 wins in as few games was the 1978-79 team.
The Matchup
- Who: App State (RV) at Old Dominion
- Where: Chartway Arena // Norfolk, Va.
- When: Thursday, February 22 // 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
Trailing by nine with just over 14 minutes to play in the game, the Mountaineers went on to outscore the Ragin' Cajuns by 21 points over the final 13 minutes to pick up another double-digit win in the Holmes Center last Saturday.
Jordan Marsh's career day helped fuel the Black and Gold to win No. 13 in the Holmes Center this season, extending its unbeaten streak at home.
Marsh led the way for App State, scoring 23 points in just 17 minutes, with 17 of those 23 points coming in the second half. Two more players reached double-figures in
Donovan Gregory and
Myles Tate, marking the 33rd consecutive game that App State has had at least two double-digit scorers in a game.
App State went small in the final stages of the second half, using four guards and
CJ Huntley at the five. Just like against Toledo when the Mountaineers went small, the four-guard lineup provided a spark that App State needed to pull ahead.
The Mountaineers shot the three at a high percentage against the best three-point defense in the country heading into play. App State made eight threes on 16 attempts, which was the first time that the Mountaineers have shot at least 50 percent from three in a game this season and was the first time that Louisiana has allowed a team to shoot over 50 percent against them this season.
Scouting the Mountaineers
At 22-5 and 12-2 in Sun Belt play, the Mountaineers enter this week's action in sole possession of first place in the league and have won 21 of their last 24 games. App State is one of just 11 Division I teams with at least 22 wins and one of only 14 teams in the country with five or fewer losses entering Thursday. The Mountaineers currently own the 11th-best win percentage in the country.
App State's defense has been hard to crack this season as it enters the week with the sixth-lowest opponent field-goal percentage in the country. Opponents are shooting just 39 percent against the Mountaineers, making them one of 17 teams in the nation that keep opponents below 40 percent shooting from the field. App State has kept 16 of its opponents below 40 percent shooting this season and is 15-1 when they do so.
Additionally, the Mountaineers have been the best team in the country at blocking shots this season, averaging 7.1 blocks per game, which is almost a full block clear of the next-closest team. With 193 blocks, the Mountaineers have already shattered the previous program record for blocks in a season of 155 that was set in 1990-91. The Mountaineers are 23 blocks clear of the next-closest team (Bryant, 170).
Offensively, the Mountaineers boast one of the deepest teams in college basketball as 11 of the 13 active players on the team have recorded a double-digit point game this season. Additionally, seven different players have recorded a 20-point game this season. The Mountaineer second unit has been vital to their success this season as the Black and Gold own the 20th-best scoring bench in the country entering Thursday.
Scouting the Monarchs
Old Dominion enters action on Thursday at 6-21 and has lost eight of their last nine games. Despite that, the Monarchs have played tough recently as each of their last five contests have been decided by a combined 17 points.
The Monarchs are led by Preseason All-Sun Belt first team selection Chaunce Jenkins who averages 16.2 points per game. Since the calendar flipped to conference play, Jenkins is averaging the fifth-most points per game in the league.
The Monarchs like to run in transition as they score 12.41 fast break points a game coming into play against App State, which is the second-most fast break points a game in the Sun Belt. ODU has scored at least 10 fast break points in 20 games this season.
ODU currently leads the Sun Belt in average attendance for home games this season. The Monarchs make good use of their home-court advantage as they boast a 258-83 record at Chartway Arena since the 2002-03 season.
Series History
Thursday's meeting marks the third meeting between the Mountaineers and Monarchs and App State's second ever trip to Norfolk, Va. The two teams split the season series last year, each winning on the road.
Terence Harcum's 28-point barrage in Norfolk last January helped the Mountaineers secure the win in the first meeting between the two.
Coach Kerns is 1-1 against the Monarchs in his career.
Next Up
The Mountaineers visit Marshall on Saturday in what will be App State's third nationally televised game of the season. It will also mark the second meeting between the Herd and Mountaineers in the last nine days. Tipoff from the Cam Henderson Center is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
