BOONE, N.C. – On the heels of back-to-back convincing wins on their home floor, the App State Mountaineers conclude their season-long four-game homestand on Saturday by hosting the James Madison Dukes at the Holmes Center. App State and James Madison will meet for the first of two matchups in the next seven days. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Saturday's contest is the first-ever Stripe Out at the Holmes Center. Fans are encouraged to wear black or gold based on their ticket location.
The Mountaineers have now won 21 of their last 23 games at the Holmes Center. Since the start of last season, App State has turned the Holmes Center into one of the toughest venues in the Sun Belt Conference as they are tied for the best home winning percentage in the league since 2023-24 (91 percent). The only other team with a 91 percent home winning percentage since last season is James Madison.
Since Kerns became the head coach at App State, the Mountaineers have done well against Sun Belt East opponents, playing to a 36-15 record (71 percent win percentage). This mark includes a perfect 13-0 record against Sun Belt East opponents a season ago. With the victory over the Chanticleers on Wednesday, App State has won 14 straight against Sun Belt East foes.
Over the past 14 games against SBC East opponents, the Mountaineers have picked up eight wins by double-digits and four victories by at least 20 points. The Mountaineers have outscored their Sun Belt East opponents by 13.1 points a game during this streak. Additionally, the App State offense has scored 78.1 points a game over the last 14 games against Sun Belt East rivals.
The Matchup
- Who: App State vs. James Madison
- Where: Holmes Convocation Center // Boone, N.C.
- When: Saturday, Jan. 11 // 1 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | David Jackson (PxP), John Reisterer (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 frigid conditions outside in Boone, the App State Mountaineers lit up the Holmes Center on Wednesday, making 10 threes at a 43 percent clip and dominating the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to a score of 74-51. App State's 51 points allowed marked the second-fewest the team has given up in a game against a Division I opponent this season. The Mountaineers never trailed in the contest.
CJ Huntley tallied his second straight double-double against the Chanticleers, scoring 21 points and grabbing a career-best 15 rebounds. Huntley became the first Mountaineer since Marshall Phillips to record a 20-point, 15-rebound game with Phillips' stellar outing coming on Dec. 5, 1998, against Georgia Tech. Before last Saturday against Texas State, Huntley hadn't recorded a double-double in his previous 135 career games.
App State's suffocating defense told the story against Coastal Carolina as it held the Chanticleers to just 18 made field goals and a 35 percent field-goal percentage. The Mountaineers' defense played a crucial role in them taking control of the game early as they forced seven straight Chanticleer misses while forcing three turnovers, helping lead to a 15-0 run early in the first half.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State enters Saturday having posted two straight double-digit wins over Texas State and Coastal Carolina. On Wednesday, the Mountaineers led by as much as 25 points, the team's largest lead against a Division I program this season, helping secure a 23-point win, which is the largest victory over a Division I opponent this season. Additionally, the Mountaineers made 10 more threes, giving them 22 over the last two games on 45 attempts (48.8 percent).
Stifling defense has continued to be the story for App State this season as they enter play on Saturday with the Sun Belt's second-best scoring defense, allowing just 64.1 points a game, which is also the 27th-best mark in the NCAA as of Saturday. App State hasn't let an opponent get over 70 points in each of its last seven games, which is the longest streak in which App State has held its opponents below 70 points since it held 13 straight opponents under 70 in the 2021-22 season. During this streak, App State is giving up just 61 points a contest.
The Mountaineers have been especially stellar at defending the three this season, keeping their opponents to just 108 made threes on 379 attempts, which is good for a 28.5 percent mark. The Mountaineers enter play against the Dukes with the 21st-best defense against the three in the country and allow just 29 percent of their opponents' points to come from behind the 3-point line. App State has allowed just two teams this year to make more than 10 threes against it.
One of the best duos in the conference resides in Boone, N.C., as both Tate and Huntley head into Saturday's game against the Dukes in the top 10 in scoring. Huntley and Tate are one of two duos in the league to each be in the top 10 in scoring (Tyrel Morgan and Tylan Pope, Texas State). Tate averages 15.1 points a game entering Saturday, good for the fifth-best scoring average in the league, while Huntley's 14.3 points a game is the seventh-best average. The two have combined to tally each of the Mountaineers' eight 20-point scoring games this season.
Scouting the Dukes
James Madison is 9-7 this season and has won three of their last four contests after falling to Marshall on Thursday by two points. The Dukes are 2-2 in Sun Belt play entering Saturday, beating Southern Miss and Arkansas State, who were the conference's preseason favorites.
The Dukes shoot the three at one of the highest rates in the country entering Saturday as they shoot 25.7 shots from behind the arc. As a result, James Madison makes nine threes per game, good for the third-highest mark in the Sun Belt. Entering play against the Mountaineers, three players have attempted at least 70 3-pointers in Mark Freeman, Bryce Lindsay and Xavier Brown.
James Madison entered the 2024-25 season as the Sun Belt's lone representative in the NCAA Tournament last year after winning the Sun Belt Tournament crown. The Dukes started last year with 14 consecutive wins and won a total of 32 games, a program record.
Series History
App State and James Madison will square off for the 11th time on Saturday and the fifth time since the Dukes joined the Sun Belt in 2022. The two teams have played each other twice each of the past two seasons. The Mountaineers have fared well in games played at the Holmes Center against the Dukes as they are 4-1. Overall, the Mountaineers are 7-3 against James Madison.
Last year, App State swept the season series, beating James Madison in Harrisonburg on Jan. 13 before claiming a six-point win in front of 8,052 fans and a national television audience at the Holmes Center on Jan. 27.
Myles Tate eclipsed double figures in each game against the Dukes last year, tallying 15 points in Harrisonburg and 10 in Boone. In the game at James Madison, Tate delivered a dagger with 21 seconds to play to put App State up four before sinking two free throws to seal the win.
Head coach
Dustin Kerns is 3-1 against the Dukes in his coaching career, but he has never faced first-year James Madison head coach Preston Spradlin. This will be Spradlin's first game as a head coach against the Mountaineers.
Next Up
The Mountaineers will hit the road following Saturday's action to start a season-long four-game road trip, starting with a visit to Norfolk, Va., for a matchup with the Old Dominion Monarchs on Thursday. Tipoff from Chartway Arena is slated for 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
