PENSACOLA, Fla. – After claiming their first outright Sun Belt Conference regular season title and clinching a double-bye in the Sun Belt Tournament, the App State Mountaineers (26-5, 16-2 SBC) start their Sun Belt Tournament run on Saturday, facing off against the Georgia Southern Eagles (9-23, 8-10 SBC). App State will act as the one seed in the Sun Belt Tournament for the first time since 1978-79. Tipoff on Saturday is set for 12:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. CT) and can be streamed on ESPN+.
App State's win over Arkansas State in the regular season finale clinched its first outright regular season conference title in 45 years. The last time the Mountaineers won the outright conference title, they went on to win the conference tournament as well.
Additionally, the Mountaineers enter the Sun Belt Tournament as the one seed for the first time ever, securing that with the home win over Old Dominion on Feb. 28. App State has played as the overall No. 1 seed at the conference tournament just two other times (1977-78 and 1978-79) in program history, advancing to at least the tournament semifinals both times. The last time App State was the one seed in the conference tournament, it won.
With the win over Arkansas State in the regular season finale, the Mountaineers won their 26th game, setting the program record for wins in a season. App State suffered just five regular season losses, marking the fewest regular season losses since the 1978-79 season.
Among those 26 wins, 16 of them came in Sun Belt play, which is the most conference wins in a single season. With a 16-2 record in conference play, the Mountaineers also broke the program record for the best winning percentage in conference play ever, winning 89 percent of their games.
Last Friday's win over the Red Wolves secured an undefeated 15-0 record at the Holmes Center, marking App State's first unblemished season at home in the Division I era. The Mountaineers also set a regular season attendance record in the win. App State was the only unbeaten team at home in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Matchup
- Who: No. 1 App State (RV) vs. No. 9 Georgia Southern
- Where: Pensacola Bay Center // Pensacola, Fla.
- When: Saturday, March 9 // 12:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. CT)
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 started hot and blew out Arkansas State in the regular season finale, recording their ninth win this season of at least 20 points. App State held the high-powered Arkansas State offense to just 35 percent shooting, five made 3s and a season-low 57 points.
Donovan Gregory and
Tre'Von Spillers capped off their stellar regular seasons by leading the Mountaineers in scoring with 15 apiece. Spillers posted his team-leading 10th double-double of the season in the win, scoring 15 points while grabbing 15 rebounds. It was his second consecutive game where he posted at least 15 points and 15 rebounds. Overall, four Mountaineers reached double figures, including
CJ Huntley who made his first start since Dec. 5 in the win.
When the final horn sounded, the Mountaineers were presented with the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship trophy for the first time ever. It was an incredible scene as a crowd of 7,074 watched on as the team cut down the nets.
Scouting the Mountaineers
At 26-5 and 16-2 in Sun Belt play, the Mountaineers enter the Sun Belt Tournament having won 25 of their last 28 games while also being on their third winning streak of at least seven games this season. App State is one of just nine Division I teams with at least 26 wins while also being one of only 12 teams in the country with five or fewer losses entering Saturday. App State is one of just 11 teams in the nation with a winning percentage of at least 83 percent.
Because of the Mountaineers' record-breaking regular season, a total of four players earned postseason honors on Monday.
Justin Abson, who set the program record for blocks in a season with 87, took home App State's first conference Defensive Player of the Year since 2013 while
Donovan Gregory,
Tre'Von Spillers and
Terence Harcum were named All-Conference. Both Gregory and Spillers were named All-Sun Belt first team, marking the first time that App State has had at least two first team All-Conference selections since 1999-00 when Tyson Patterson and Marshall Phillips were both named first team All-SoCon.
App State's defense has been tough to crack this season as it enters the Sun Belt Tournament with the fourth-lowest opponent field-goal percentage in the country. Opponents are shooting just 39 percent against the Mountaineers, making them one of 11 teams in the nation that keep opponents below 40 percent shooting from the field. App State has kept 19 of its opponents below 40 percent shooting this season and are 18-1 when they do so.
Additionally, the Mountaineers have been the best team in the country at blocking shots this season as they enter the Sun Belt Tournament as the nation's leader in both blocks per game and blocked shots. The Mountaineers have already shattered the program record for blocks in a season and are currently the only team in the country with at least 200 blocked shots.
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 19th-best scoring bench in the country entering Saturday's games.
The Mountaineers have been a great second-half team this season as they have outscored their opponent in the second half in 21 of the 31 games this year. In their last six games, the Mountaineers have outscored their opponents by 67 points in the second half and have won three straight games in which they have trailed by at least nine points in the second half.
Scouting the Eagles
Georgia Southern completed a wire-to-wire win in round 1 of the Sun Belt Tournament, defeating South Alabama by five points to advance to the quarterfinal round. The win was their third in a row. Five players reached double figures in the win, including Avantae Parker's first career double-double.
Offensively, the Eagles are led by All-Sun Belt second team selection Tyren Moore, who averaged the third-most points a game in the Sun Belt in the regular season. Moore tallied 18 points in the win over South Alabama on Thursday.
Georgia Southern shoots threes at a high clip, entering the Sun Belt Tournament with the highest team three-point field goal percentage in the league. The Eagles have also made the most threes in the conference. Coming into play on Saturday, Georgia Southern has made at least five threes in 12 straight games.
Series History
Saturday's meeting between the Mountaineers and Eagles marks the third meeting this season between the two programs and the 64th meeting all time. The two teams met up in the 2022 Sun Belt Tournament, which saw App State pick up a double-digit win.
The last time App State and Georgia Southern squared off was in February, which saw App State sweep the season series with the Eagles with an overtime road win.
Donovan Gregory's heroic put-back layup put App State ahead with nine seconds to play and
Justin Abson's blocked shot at the horn sealed the victory in thrilling fashion.
Terence Harcum played his best game of the season in Statesboro on Feb. 3, scoring a season-high 26 points on five made threes. Harcum's 26-point game remains as the highest-scoring game by a Mountaineer this season.
Next Up
With a win, the Mountaineers will advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament and will face the winner of No. 4 seed Arkansas State vs. No. 5 seed Louisiana. Tipoff would be scheduled for 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT) on Sunday. All games before the Sun Belt Championship can be streamed on ESPN+.
